Chernivtsi, Itzik Manger, and Yiddish Literature in an Intercultural Context

Abstract

Chernivtsi, the capital of Bukovyna, has long been regarded as a multicultural (or, more precisely, multiethnic) and multilingual paradise. As a microcosm within the macrocosm of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, to which Bukovyna belonged until 1918, this region experienced a turbulent history – it was Austrian, Romanian, Soviet, and since 1991 has been part of independent Ukraine. During the period of the monarchy, Germans, Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Romanians, Poles, Armenians, Jews, and other minorities lived here, sharing one common feature: they struggled for their rights and for the recognition of their language. In 1908, it hosted the World Conference on the Yiddish Language, attended by prominent Jewish writers such as Yitskhok Leybush Peretz, Sholem Asch, and Avrom Reyzen. Chernivtsi gave the world German-language poets Rose Ausländer and Paul Celan. One of the most famous Jewish poets of the XX century, Itzik Manger (1901–1969), was also born here. At that time, Chernivtsi was an island of Western culture where German was spoken. Manger likewise began writing his first poems in German. Later he moved to Iași, Romania, which was the cradle of Yiddish theatre. The renowned performer of Jewish songs Velvl Zbarzher and the father of Jewish theatre, Abraham Goldfaden, were frequent visitors there. Manger developed his poetic creativity at the intersection of three cultures: German, Yiddish, and Romani. His favorite genre became the ballad, which he mastered even before the Catastrophe. His poetry collections “Shtern oyfn dakh” (“Stars over the Roof,” 1929) and “Lamtern in vint” (“Lamps in the Wind,” 1933) were later supplemented by only a few poems from the collection “Shtern in shtoyb” (“Stars in the Dust,” 1967). The Jewish “troubadour” Itzik Manger is a vivid example of multiculturalism. The inexhaustible source of his creativity was the Bible, as well as Greek and Germanic myths, which he transformed into points of departure for endless metaphors and metamorphoses.