This week we talk with Ilan Stavans, Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American, and Latino Culture at Amherst College, publisher of Restless Books, and host of the NPR podcast “In Contrast.” A busy man, we caught up with him to chat about his upcoming three-part series of talks taking place at the Yiddish Book Center May 1, 8, and 15: “People of the Picture Book: The History of Jewish Children’s Literature.” In a lively exchange, we discuss everything from the Haggadah and the Book of Esther to the ways in which psychoanalysis and the comic-strip industry in the twentieth century informed Jewish children’s book classics such as Curious George, Where the Wild Things Are, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Episode 0183

April 26, 2018

Yiddish Book Center

Amherst, MA