Miriam Udel on Honey on the Page

In this episode, Anna speaks with Miriam Udel about Honey on the Page (NYU Press), her 2021 anthology of Yiddish children’s literature from the 20th century. A project born of her roles as Yiddish scholar, teacher, and mother, the collection brings together folktales, fool stories, and bedtime parables for readers both steeped in Jewish culture and entirely new to it. Miriam walks us through the sticky-sweet meaning behind the book’s title—a nod to a ritual invitation to Jewish literacy. We also hear about her process of commissioning visual illustrations with the late artist Paula Cohen to recast vintage scenes in a contemporary key, both cartoonish and candlelit in equal measure. Along the way, we meet weary winds, bickering couples, and a whole lot of Jerusalem alley cats.