Rediscovering Rivke Rus

Rivke Rus (1912–1983) was a Yiddish writer born in Galicia who emigrated to South America in 1937 and later settled in Israel. A prolific novelist, she contributed extensively to newspapers and journals, offering, among other insights, a unique perspective on Jewish life in the Argentine colonies—a perspective that has largely been forgotten. In this talk, Miriam Schwarz presents her archival research tracing Rus’ publications, exploring her challenges in publishing Yiddish works in Israel, and shedding light on her complex personal life.

Presented live on Zoom, Sunday, March 2, 2025

Please Note: The recording will only be available until March 9, 2025.

Read Rivke Rus' novel, Af argentiner felder, in the original Yiddish:

Miriam Schwartz is a PhD candidate in Yiddish Studies at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the representation of speech in Jewish literature written in Hebrew and Yiddish in the twentieth century in South America, Israel, Eastern Europe, and North America, and deals with questions of translation, orality, and ideology. Before coming to Toronto, she earned her BA in Literature and MA in Yiddish Literature, both at Tel Aviv University. Miriam is a research assistant on the Bais Yaakov Project, with her work featured on the project’s website. Her translations were published in the Journal Iberzets, and her creative writing has been featured in literary journals.