Laughing in Yiddish by Jamie Wendt
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“To tell a long story short, Papa says, / and then proceeds to tell bits of a long story.” Poet Jamie Wendt does the same in her new collection Laughing in Yiddish, and through telling bits of her family’s journey from Russia to contemporary Chicago she enters upon the very long and often horrific story of Jewish history and tradition. Overcoming her relatives’ reticence to look backward (“No one talked about the past back then”) she teases out touching details of Jewish community life in America and beyond, sketching vivid portraits of the individuals who informed her life and identity. There is the sort of laughing one does to keep from crying, and while these poems are not themselves in Yiddish, the role of dark humor in the face of catastrophe that pervades that language and culture is evident throughout. And it seldom has felt so timely, and so necessary.
Year first published: 2025
