Vivian Felsen is a Canadian translator from

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

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 ...

into English, and a visual artist of Jewish origin. She is the recipient of the

Canadian Jewish Book Award The Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards were a Canadian program of literary awards, managed, produced and presented annually by the Koffler Centre of the Arts to works judged to be the year's best works of literature by Jewish Canadian ...

(2001) and J. I. Segal Award (2004, 2018) for her translations dealing with Canadian Jewish history and

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

memoirs.

Early life and education

Vivian Felsen comes from Toronto, her grandfather was the Jewish journalist

Israel Medres Israel Jonah Medres (; 1894 – August 6, 1964) was a Canadian Yiddish journalist and writer. Biography Israel Medres was born in Lekhovich, Russian Empire, in 1894. He studied for three years at the yeshiva of Lida Lida is a city in Grodno ...

. She holds a B.A. and M.A. from 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 ...

, where she studied French and Russian language and literature, and a law degree from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Career

Translation

Felsen works as a translator from

and

into English. She began her career with translations of two books by Israel Medres, for which she received a

(2001) and a J. I. Segal Award (2004). She has since translated books on Canadian Jewish history, Holocaust memoirs as well as short stories written by Jewish women writers. The stories were published, among others, in ''The Exile Book of Yiddish Women Writers'', an anthology edited by Frieda Johles Forman, which was awarded with a Canadian Jewish Book Award (2014). Felsen's translation of

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Pinchas Hirschprung's Holocaust memoir titled ''The Veil of Tears'' was awarded a gold medal in the autobiography/memoir category of

Independent Publisher Book Awards The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also styled as the IPPY Awards, are a set of annual literary awards for independently published books. They are the longest-running unaffiliated contest open exclusively to independent presses. The IPPY Aw ...

as well as a J. I. Segal Award (both 2018). She was also nominated for the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for her rendition from French of the book ''J. I. Segal: a Montreal Yiddish Poet and His Milieu'' (2018). Her translations of poems by J. I. Segal later appeared in the journal ''Canadian Jewish Studies''. Apart from translating, Felsen has also authored texts on Yiddish culture and literature. She has contributed to ''New Readings of Yiddish Montreal — Traduire le Montréal yiddish'' edited by Pierre Anctil, Norman Ravvin and Sherry Simon (2007), written an essay on Canadian Yiddish literature for ''Kanade, di Goldene Medine?: Perspectives on Canadian-Jewish Literature and Culture / Perspectives sur la littérature et la culture juives canadiennes'' (2018), articles on Dora Shulner and Lili Berger for the

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brook ...

website and on Israel Medres for the second edition of ''

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...

''.

Visual arts

Felsen works as a visual artist, with a career spanning several decades. She taught drawing and painting at the

Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design or MTM College is a Canadian vocational college in Toronto, Ontario. It was established in 1998, and offers both diploma and non-degree courses in illustration, concept art and animation Ani ...

, as well as through the

Toronto Board of Education The Toronto Board of Education (TBE; commonly known as School District 15), officially known as the Board of Education for the City of Toronto, is the former secular school district serving the Old Toronto, pre-merged city of Toronto. The board o ...

. Felsen's works have been exhibited, among others, at Palacio das Artes in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Brazil, and at the Gallery Arcturus. She has also been among the jurors for the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, the

Ontario Society of Artists The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke ...

, and the Society of Canadian Artists.

Private life

One of her sons studied at Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem and is now an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

rabbi.

Book translations

From Yiddish

* Israel Medres: ''Montreal of yesterday: Jewish life in Montreal, 1900-1920'' (''Montreal fun nekhtn''), 2000 * Israel Medres: ''Between the wars: Canadian Jews in Transition'' (''Tsvishn tsvey velt milkhomes''), 2003 * Yankl Nirenberg: ''Memoirs of the Lodz Ghetto'', 2003 * Michael Kutz: ''If, by Miracle'', 2013 * Bronia and Joseph Beker: ''Joy Runs Deeper'', 2014 * Pinchas Hirschprung: ''The Veil of Tears'' (''Fun natsishen yomertol''), 2016

From French

* Paul Schaffer: ''The Veiled Sun: From Auschwitz to New Beginning'' (''Le Soleil voilé, Auschwitz 1942–1945''), with original introduction by

Simone Veil Simone Veil (; ; 13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017) was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician who served as health minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman t ...

, 2015 * Pierre Anctil: ''J. I. Segal (1896–1954): A Montreal Yiddish Poet and His Milieu'', 2017

References

External links

Interview with Vivian Felsen
at the

Yiddish Book Center The Yiddish Book Center (formerly the National Yiddish Book Center), located on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, is a cultural institution dedicated to the preservation of books in the Yiddish language, ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Felsen, Vivian 21st-century Canadian translators Yiddish–English translators French–English translators Artists from Toronto University of Toronto alumni York University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)