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Not in the Same Breath: A Yiddish & English Book of Poetry
Not in the Same Breath is the first book of original poetry by the poet and translator Zackary Sholem Berger. This Yiddish and English chapbook isn't a customary bilingual edition of facing-page translations, but a collection of original poems in the two languages. This publication of Yiddish House LLC was made possible by 85 prenumerantn (subscribers) who generously contributed through the Kickstarter platform..
- GenresPoetry
76 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 2011
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60 people want to read
About the author
Zackary Sholem Berger
13 books13 followersZackary Sholem Berger is a poet, journalist, and translator in Yiddish and English. His NOT IN THE SAME BREATH, a book of Yiddish and English poetry, followed the success of his Yiddish-language translations of beloved children's classics including THE CAT IN THE HAT, ONE FISH TWO FISH, and CURIOUS GEORGE.
He lives in Baltimore with his wife (co-founder of the publisher Yiddish House LLC) and their three Yiddish-speaking children. In his parallel life, he is a primary care doctor. Visit his alter ego Zackary Berger and learn about his new book available for pre-order, Talking to Your Doctor A Patient's Guide to Communication in the Exam Room and Beyond.
He lives in Baltimore with his wife (co-founder of the publisher Yiddish House LLC) and their three Yiddish-speaking children. In his parallel life, he is a primary care doctor. Visit his alter ego Zackary Berger and learn about his new book available for pre-order, Talking to Your Doctor A Patient's Guide to Communication in the Exam Room and Beyond.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 23, 2011
Interesting book that is a quick read. My favorites were "End of Summer" and "Planet of Twos". I received this book for free from the Goodreads first read giveaway.
July 19, 2017
****I won this book from Goodreads. It is a First Reads Giveaway book****
I received this a few weeks ago and hadn't had the time to read it until now. Although it is a shorter book, I wanted to wait until I had some quiet time to sit and read through it, rather than go through it in a hurry. Admittedly I don't read Yiddish, but the symbolism of the pictures speaks more than the characters themselves do.
I'm selective about poetry, so some of these poems didn't stir much if any reaction in me, but there were a few that I really liked, particularly "Planet of Twos" and "I'm a big watermelon"
I enjoyed "I'm a big watermelon" because to me it seemed like a metaphor for life and death. I took it to mean that the writer isn't afraid of death itself, just not having made a big enough impact in their life while they had the chance.
I liked "Planet of Twos" because it reminds me how we live in often dichotomous society, where there are two choices in regards to many issues. It makes me think about how the world might be different if there were more compromise, more allowance of third (or more) choice on issues. The end of the poem itself represents how people who don't agree with either side of an issue are made to feel. They are forced to go their own way or be outcasts, (Things aren't entirely this dramatic with all issues but with some they can be.)
If I had to pick one particular line of a poem that resonated with me the most it would have to be last line of "Report from an Empty City" The line is "The Room is Empty because you are empty. Go fill yourself" When people are depressed or lonely they are often told that they just need to fill the loneliness, but sometimes it's difficult to figure out just what will fill that empty space.
I received this a few weeks ago and hadn't had the time to read it until now. Although it is a shorter book, I wanted to wait until I had some quiet time to sit and read through it, rather than go through it in a hurry. Admittedly I don't read Yiddish, but the symbolism of the pictures speaks more than the characters themselves do.
I'm selective about poetry, so some of these poems didn't stir much if any reaction in me, but there were a few that I really liked, particularly "Planet of Twos" and "I'm a big watermelon"
I enjoyed "I'm a big watermelon" because to me it seemed like a metaphor for life and death. I took it to mean that the writer isn't afraid of death itself, just not having made a big enough impact in their life while they had the chance.
I liked "Planet of Twos" because it reminds me how we live in often dichotomous society, where there are two choices in regards to many issues. It makes me think about how the world might be different if there were more compromise, more allowance of third (or more) choice on issues. The end of the poem itself represents how people who don't agree with either side of an issue are made to feel. They are forced to go their own way or be outcasts, (Things aren't entirely this dramatic with all issues but with some they can be.)
If I had to pick one particular line of a poem that resonated with me the most it would have to be last line of "Report from an Empty City" The line is "The Room is Empty because you are empty. Go fill yourself" When people are depressed or lonely they are often told that they just need to fill the loneliness, but sometimes it's difficult to figure out just what will fill that empty space.
September 7, 2011
I really liked this.
I'm not an active poetry reader, to my shame.
There are a fair share of graphics accompaning the poems and while some are arresting, they don't detract from the poetry.
In fact, I'm sure that some of them are specifically for the yiddish poems (but I could be wrong), the ones clearly associated with the english poems accent the imagery of them.
again, I could be wrong, but there also seem to be images within the book that are poems all by themselves.
The poems are thought provoking and I liked the imagery of some of them.
There are one or two poems that are moderately disturbing (your level may vary), but of course, being a book, you can move away from them and go back (or not) when you choose.
I'm not an active poetry reader, to my shame.
There are a fair share of graphics accompaning the poems and while some are arresting, they don't detract from the poetry.
In fact, I'm sure that some of them are specifically for the yiddish poems (but I could be wrong), the ones clearly associated with the english poems accent the imagery of them.
again, I could be wrong, but there also seem to be images within the book that are poems all by themselves.
The poems are thought provoking and I liked the imagery of some of them.
There are one or two poems that are moderately disturbing (your level may vary), but of course, being a book, you can move away from them and go back (or not) when you choose.
June 11, 2011
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads for free. I enjoyed reading the poetries in this book. I have a few favorites. One of them, reminded me of how I sometimes feel. The others, put a smile on my face and made me chuckle to myself. Thank you, Zackary Sholem Berger, for sending me your book.
October 15, 2011
This is an interesting and different book of poetry.
It has poems written in English and in Yiddish.
The poems and illustrations are thought provoking.
I received this book free as a Goodreads review book.
It has poems written in English and in Yiddish.
The poems and illustrations are thought provoking.
I received this book free as a Goodreads review book.
May 25, 2011
I may not speak Yiddish, but I felt like I could since there are both language translations on the pages; I liked that a lot =]
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews