Irena Klepfisz
Encyclopedia
Irena Klepfisz is a Jewish Lesbian
author, academic and activist.
on April 17, 1941 and was 2 years old during the "varshever geto oyfshtand", (Yiddish for 'the Warsaw ghetto uprising
'). Her father, Michał Klepfisz, a member of "der algemeynernyidisher arbeter bund", (the Jewish Labour Bund
), was killed on the second day of uprising.
Klepfisz escaped with her mother to the Polish countryside where they survived the Second World War by hiding and concealing their Jewish identities, aided by Polish peasants. After the war, the remaining family moved briefly to Łódź before moving to Sweden
in 1946. Irena and her mother moved to the United States
in 1949.
, and studied with distinguished Yiddish linguist Max Weinreich
, a founder of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Klepfisz graduated CCNY with honors in English and Yiddish.
In 1963, she attended the University of Chicago
to do graduate work in English Literature. Irena Klepfisz received a Ph.D.
in English in 1970.
She currently teaches at Barnard College
, but her (mame-loshn, literally "mother tongue") was Polish
; as a child she also learned Swedish
. She began to learn Yiddish in Lodz in elementary school after the Second World War. She learned English
after emigrating to the United States
. In The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women's Anthology, which she co-edited with Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
, Klepfisz describes the experience, up to age 16 or 17, of having "no language in which I was completely rooted.
Irena is well-known for her translations of Yiddish poets Kadya Molodowsky, and Fradl Shtok
, and secular Jewish communities. She is also co-founder of The Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (JWCEO). Along with Nancy Bereano, Evelyn T. Beck, Bernice Mennis, Adrienne Rich
, and Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Irena Klepfisz was a member of Di Vilde Chayes (English: The Wild Beasts), A Jewish feminist group that examined and responded to political issues in the Middle East
, as well as to antisemitism.
, a feminist magazine emphasizing the writing of lesbians, and also was the co-editor of The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women's Anthology. She has also been a contributor to the Jewish feminist magazine Bridges
. She currently teaches at Barnard
in New York city.
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
author, academic and activist.
Early life
Klepfisz was born in the Warsaw GhettoWarsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
on April 17, 1941 and was 2 years old during the "varshever geto oyfshtand", (Yiddish for 'the Warsaw ghetto uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
'). Her father, Michał Klepfisz, a member of "der algemeynernyidisher arbeter bund", (the Jewish Labour Bund
General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland
The General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland was a Jewish socialist party in Poland which promoted the political, cultural and social autonomy of Jewish workers, sought to combat antisemitism and was generally opposed to Zionism.-Creation of the Polish Bund:...
), was killed on the second day of uprising.
Klepfisz escaped with her mother to the Polish countryside where they survived the Second World War by hiding and concealing their Jewish identities, aided by Polish peasants. After the war, the remaining family moved briefly to Łódź before moving to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1946. Irena and her mother moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1949.
Education
Klepfisz attended City College of New YorkCity College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, and studied with distinguished Yiddish linguist Max Weinreich
Max Weinreich
Max Weinreich was a linguist, specializing in the Yiddish language, and the father of the linguist Uriel Weinreich, who edited the Modern Yiddish-English English-Yiddish Dictionary.- Biography :Max Weinreich began his studies in a German school in Kuldiga,...
, a founder of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Klepfisz graduated CCNY with honors in English and Yiddish.
In 1963, she attended the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
to do graduate work in English Literature. Irena Klepfisz received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in English in 1970.
She currently teaches at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
Yiddishist
Today Klepfisz is known as a YiddishistYiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
, but her (mame-loshn, literally "mother tongue") was Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
; as a child she also learned Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
. She began to learn Yiddish in Lodz in elementary school after the Second World War. She learned English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
after emigrating to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women's Anthology, which she co-edited with Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz is a lesbian essayist, poet, activist and academic, born in 1945 in Brooklyn, New York.-Early life:Her grandparents emigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe, Poland and Russia....
, Klepfisz describes the experience, up to age 16 or 17, of having "no language in which I was completely rooted.
Irena is well-known for her translations of Yiddish poets Kadya Molodowsky, and Fradl Shtok
Activism
Klepfisz has worked as an activist in feminist, lesbianLesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, and secular Jewish communities. She is also co-founder of The Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (JWCEO). Along with Nancy Bereano, Evelyn T. Beck, Bernice Mennis, Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Cecile Rich is an American poet, essayist and feminist. She has been called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century."-Early life:...
, and Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Irena Klepfisz was a member of Di Vilde Chayes (English: The Wild Beasts), A Jewish feminist group that examined and responded to political issues in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, as well as to antisemitism.
Publishing
Klepfisz began publishing her poems in 1971. She was a founding editor of Conditions (magazine)Conditions (magazine)
Conditions was a lesbian feminist literary annual founded in 1976 in Brooklyn, New York by Elly Bulkin, Jan Clausen, Irena Klepfisz and Rima Shore.-Publishing Collective:Conditions was a magazine which emphasised the lives and writings of lesbians, and, throughout its...
, a feminist magazine emphasizing the writing of lesbians, and also was the co-editor of The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women's Anthology. She has also been a contributor to the Jewish feminist magazine Bridges
Academic career
Irena Klepfisz has taught English, Yiddish, and Women's StudiesWomen's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
. She currently teaches at Barnard
Barnard
- People :Some of the Barnard family are believed to have been Huguenots who fled from the Atlantic coast region of France to England, Ireland, Holland and the New World circa 1685 or earlier than that date. See,...
in New York city.