Sunny Yudkoff: Let It Be Consumption- Tuberculosis and the Production of Yiddish Literature

At the turn of the 20th century, tuberculosis was a leading cause of death across America, Europe, & the Russian Empire. The incurable disease gave rise to a culture of convalescence, creating new opportunities for travel, literary reflection, & the creation of financial support networks. In this talk, Yudkoff explores how the lives and work of Yiddish writers were transformed by a tubercular diagnosis. This project reconsiders a foundational relationship between disease, biography, & literature