Irving Joseph Massey

Yiddish Book Center (Emily B.) · November 13, 2013

Irving Joseph Massey, son of Yiddish poet Ida Maze, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on November 13, 2013 in Buffalo, New York. This interview is conducted in both Yiddish and English. Irving's mother, Ida, was born in the village of Ugli, south of Minsk in Belarus. Her family was distantly related to another Yiddish literary great, Mendele Moykher Sforim. As a teenager, she emigrated with her family first to New York and later to Montreal where they settled permanently. Ida became a major figure in Yiddish Montreal. She was well known as the "mother of Yiddish writers" in recognition of her efforts to welcome Yiddish writers into her home and help them get their works published. To learn more about the Wexler Oral History Project, visit: http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/tell-your-story To cite this interview: Irving Joseph Massey Oral History Interview, interviewed by Christa Whitney, Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project, Buffalo, New York, November 13, 2013. Video recording, https://archive.org/details/IrvingJosephMassey13november2013YiddishBookCenter ( [date accessed] )