Telling Yiddish Stories: The Yiddish Book Center as Genizah, Cultural Hub, and Trailblazing Museum - a talk by David Mazower 

The story of the Yiddish Book Center in western Massachusetts is one of radical innovation and strategic vision. Having rescued two million used books and pioneered open-access digital literature, the Center is now a hub of translation, publishing and educational initiatives, and recently opened the world’s first museum of Yiddish culture. David Mazower joined the Center in 2017, leading the creative team that developed Yiddish: A Global Culture, its core exhibition and acclaimed 350-page exhibition catalog. In this talk, he shares his passion for Yiddish and the experience of curating the story of modern Yiddish culture. He will also talk about the Center’s mission and programs, and some of the newer initiatives and opportunities available to students. David Mazower is Research Bibliographer and Editorial Director at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. Chief curator and writer of the Center’s permanent exhibition, Yiddish: A Global Culture, he led that landmark 5-year project, and is the author of the newly published exhibition catalog of the same name. A former BBC news journalist, he has written and published extensively on Jewish history and art, Yiddish theatre and popular culture, and the life of his great-grandfather, bestselling Yiddish author Sholem Asch.