Jake Schneider

Translations

I have been working as a freelance translator since 2012, mostly from German to English.

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Projects

As a passionate Yiddishist, I organize many projects related to Yiddish culture and history.

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Events

I organize and participate in a wide range of literary and cultural events.

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Writing

I write poems, articles, and miniatures in Yiddish and narrative essays in English.

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Upcoming Dates

Visit Berlin's Yiddishland walking tour
Learn about the history and daily life of Yiddish-speaking immigrants to Berlin with this grassroots walking tour.
Info and save your spot
August 3-18: Yiddish Hoyz at Yiddish Summer Weimar
In August, I will be coordinating the Yiddish Hoyz, the first ever residential Yiddish immersion program at Yiddish Summer Weimar in the festival's 25th anniversary year.
More info
27 September: Tour of Yiddish and Jewish identity at the Jewish Museum Berlin
On 5 July at 3 pm, I will be giving a tour of the core exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin titled "Yiddish & Jewish Identity: Journey of a Language in Germany." Spaces are limited – reserve your ticket online.
Info and reserve your ticket

Recent Publications

Forverts: Jewish Coexistence in Vienna
How Hassidim, Yiddishists, and Bukharan Jews get along in Vienna's small Jewish community. An article for the world's oldest Yiddish newspaper.
Read article (in Yiddish)
Yiddish Branzhe: "In 2025"
Two poems about the year 2025 in Yiddish Branzhe. “which do I prefer: to be run over / by a car with no driver, or by a car with a driver: a murderer?”
Read the poems (in Yiddish)
Forverts: "Cockney Yiddish"
A podcast, a language and a way of life: two London historians revive the old Jewish East End in our imaginations. An article about the past and present of Yiddish in London.
Read article (in Yiddish)
Forverts: Yiddish is Alive in Texas
In the linguistically diverse US state of Texas, Yiddish has much deeper history and a more vibrant present than one might expect. A Yiddish article I wrote, now available in English.
Read the English version
Parabolis Viritualis 4: Anthology of Queer Poetry
German translations of three of my Yiddish poems were featured in Quer Verlag's anthology of queer poetry in Germany with a focus on immigrant writers, edited by Kevin Junk. I read the originals at the launch at Haus für Poesie on 10 April.
Order a copy
In Geveb: "The Hideaway" by A.N. Stencl
The poet A.N. Stencl (1897–1983) was an insider-outsider during his 15 years in Berlin. I am now translating his gritty memoirs of the Weimar Republic, Gerangl (Hustle), as a 2025 Translation Fellow of the Yiddish Book Center.
Read an excerpt
Di Goldene Pawe: Two Poems
Two poems in issue 2 of Amsterdam's Yiddish journal, Di Goldene Pawe, with Dovid Omar Cohen's Dutch translations. Their website also features a recorded reading of my poem "Zeitzone (Tempelhof)" (the second audio clip), which is also included in their PDF sample of the issue.
Magazine website (in Dutch)
Forverts: Language Revitalization Activists Come Together
An article in the Forverts, the longest-running Yiddish newspaper, about collaborations between language reclamation activists from different language communities and the role of Yiddish in these efforts.
Read the article (in Yiddish)
Glitter 7: “a pebble from the fountain of youth”
A poem of mine in Yiddish original, transliteration, and Horst Bernhardt's wonderful German translation was included in the 7th annual edition of Glitter, an all-queer, mostly German-language literary magazine based in Berlin.
Order a copy
Hamburg's Queer Poem Walk
A poem of mine in Arndt Beck's German translation has been featured in the Queer Poem Walk in Hamburg, a project of the city's one-of-a-kind queer book club.
More info

Keep in Touch

Feel free to contact me via the contact form and I will reply as soon as possible via email.

I have postponed my ambitions to create a personal newsletter. If you are interested in Yiddish cultural events in Berlin, I recommend the Shtetl Berlin newsletter, which also announces events by other individuals and groups in our community such as Yiddish.Berlin.

Follow me on Instagram @jakeausdemschneider to see my latest Shmues un Vayn collages and other personal announcements.