Michael Wex (born September 12, 1954) is a Canadian novelist, playwright, translator, lecturer, performer, and author of books on language and literature.
His specialty is

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

and his book '' Born to Kvetch'' was a surprise bestseller in 2005. Wex lives in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Michael Wex was born in

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, Canada to a family of descendants of

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

s of

Ciechanów Ciechanów is a city in north-central Poland, seat of the Ciechanów County in the Masovian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 43,495. A city with almost a thousand years of history, recorded in 1065, Ciechanów is one of ...

and

Stryków Stryków is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County. It has 3,428 inhabitants (2020). It is located within the historic Łęczyca Land. History Early history The first mention of Stryków was in 1387. Stryków was a v ...

. He has taught at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

."Michael Wex"
an interview by Wordsmith.org, December 5, 2005

Works

*''The Frumkiss Family Business''. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2010. *''How to Be a Mentsh (and Not a Shmuck)''. Harper, 2009. *''Just Say Nu: Yiddish for Every Occasion (When English Just Won't Do)''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007. *'' Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language And Culture in All Its Moods''. Publisher: St. Martin's Press (September 1, 2005). *''Born to Kvetch'' (Audio CD). *''Shlepping the Exile'', 1993, *''The Adventures of Micah Mushmelon, Boy Talmudist''. 2007. *''Die Abenteuer des Micah Mushmelon, kindlicher Talmudist'' (dt. von Heiko Lehmann, Wagenbach 2005) *''Classic Yiddish Stories of S.Y. Abramovitsh, Sholem Aleichem, and I.L. Peretz''. (Michael Wex, translator) 2004. *''The Wishing-Ring'' by S.Y. Abramovitsh (Michael Wex, translator). 2003. *''God in Paris'' (performance) *''Sex in Yiddish'' (performance) *''Judenverwolkung, or Meshiekh's Tsaytn'' (performance) *''I Just Want to Jewify (The Yiddish Revenge on Wagner)'' (performance) *''Rhapsody in Schmaltz: Yiddish Food and Why We Can't Stop Eating It''

References

External links

Michael Wex's website
*
KlezKamp: The Yiddish Folk Arts Program
1954 births Living people Jewish Canadian writers Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Linguists of Yiddish Academic staff of the University of Toronto University of Michigan faculty Writers from Lethbridge University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Novelists from Alberta {{Canada-playwright-stub