Abstract
David Fram created a rich body of poetry in his mother tongue, Yiddish. This article offers detailed readings that reflect elements of empathy in his poetic responses to people he knew in Lithuania, in those referring to the strangers he encountered in South Africa, as well as to victims of the Holocaust. In making the poems available to a wider audience through my translations and transliterations, I argue for their continued relevance as vehicles for a deeper understanding of these issues.
Highlights
David Fram’s Yiddish poems frequently evoke his observation of people and his reactions to their circumstances and their suffering
With reference to my own English translations and transliterations,1 this article highlights selected poems that reflect the poet’s empathy in his responses to his familiars in Lithuania, the strangers he encountered in South Africa and towards victims of the Holocaust
While making no claim to poetry’s ability to change the world or the status quo, it suggests that the poems reflect the circumstances of a particular individual at a specific time and place in history, as well as encompassing compassion and empathy for the observed other
Summary
David Fram’s Yiddish poems frequently evoke his observation of people and his reactions to their circumstances and their suffering. With reference to my own English translations and transliterations,1 this article highlights selected poems that reflect the poet’s empathy in his responses to his familiars in Lithuania, the strangers he encountered in South Africa and towards victims of the Holocaust.
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