Frances Butwin is a Polish-born American translator and critic. With Julius Butwin, she selected and translated a collection of stories by Sholom Aleichem, which was published in 1946 as The Old Country. She has since translated several other volumes of Sholom Aleichem's works. Joseph Butwin is an American educator and critic who has published articles on English, French, and Yiddish literature. In the following essay from their biographical and critical study of Sholom Aleichem, the authors explore...

In the following excerpt, Aarons examines the defining characteristics of Aleichem' s shtetl stories.

In the following essay, Roskies examines Aleichem's use of mythology in his short fiction and places his work within the context of Yiddish literature.

In the following excerpt, Halberstam-Rubin asserts that Aleichem's short stories demonstrate how ignorance, prejudice, and violent physical attacks affected the day-today lives of the Jewish people in his time.

In the following essay, Gittleman examines Aleichem's portrayals of Jewish mothers and sons in his short fiction and finds similarities in Philip Roth's novel Portnoy's Complaint.

In the following essay, Wirth-Nesher discusses the paradoxical nature of the monologue form in Aleichem's short fiction.

In the following excerpt, which was originally published in 1941, Wiener discusses Aleichem's unique brand of humor.

In the following essay, Goldsmith contends that Aleichem's "humor is a unique phenomenon in the history of Jewish culture and a surprising mutation in the evolution of the Jewish spirit."

In the following essay, Miller considers the problematic endings of Aleichem's short fiction.

In the following essay, which was originally published in 1908, the critic examines prominent character types in Sholom Aleichem's stories and how they reflect Jewish reaction to life in exile.

In the following essay, Boyarín discusses Aleichem's narrative technique as evinced in his short story "Stantsye Baranovitsh."

In the following essay, Pritchett favorably assesses Aleichem's humor and storytelling ability.

In the following excerpt, which was originally published in 1956 as an introduction to Selected Stories of Sholom Aleichem, Kazin assesses Aleichem's treatment of Jewish people and the Yiddish language.

In the following excerpt, Howe discusses Aleichem's significance within the Jewish literary tradition, asserting 'He is, I think, the only modern writer who may truly be said to be a culture-hero. "