Y.Y. Zevin

Israel Joseph Zevin (1872 - 1926) often wrote under the pen name of Tasrak. From 1893 until his death in 1926 he wrote for the Yidishes Tageblat newspaper in New York.

His humorous stories of Jewish life in that period give us a unique glimpse into the morals, society and customs of that time as well as giving us insights on the daily activities of everyday life.

Each story is very short, only 3 - 4 pages. That format was selected for publication in the daily newspaper.

Zevin created a number of characters from his observations of the people he met and knew.

Chaim the Customer Peddler is a family man working hard to support six children and a wife. It seems like none of his projects or plans work out quite as expected.

Joe the Waiter, on the other hand, is a brash, young man of the Lower East Side looking for a wife and adventures.

Beryl the Butcher Boy is a street-wise kid who makes his way in the world delivering orders for the butcher and getting into mischief whenever the occasion presents itself.

Y.Y. Zevins Geklibene Shriftn (The Collected Works of Y.Y. Zevin)

The stories found here were translated from the 1906 edition of this book. Although Zevin himself translated and published some of his works in English translation, we believe that most appear here for the first time ever in English.