David Fram - Lithuanian Yiddish Poet of the South African Diaspora and Illuminating Love

Oct 6, 2026

This thesis investigates the Yiddish poems of South African Lithuanian immigrant David Fram, positioning his work within wider Yiddish poetry and specifically Lithuanian-South African Yiddish literature. It examines key themes: diaspora, memory of home, exile, landscape and people, nature and creator, and his Holocaust response that frames poetry as a legitimate means of expressing trauma. The study also considers how biography and personal experience inform interpretation, alongside the writing process linking the thesis to the novel Illuminating Love and ideas of postmemory.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages406

Reading Time10 h 25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Creative component: Illuminating Love

Key topics

Dedication

Acknowledgements

SheffieldHallamUniversity David Fram:Lithuanian Yiddish Poet of the South African Diaspora and Illuminating LoveFRANKEL,Hazel Available from the Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA)at:http://shura.shu.ac.uk4914/ A Sheffield Hallam University thesis This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or mediumwithout the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work,fullbibliographic details including the author,title,awardinginstitution and date of the thesis must be given. Please visit http://shura.shu.ac.uk/4914/and http://shura.shu.ac.uklinformation.html forfurther details about copyright and re-use permissions. Learning and Information ServicesAdsetts Cenire.City CampusSheffield S11WD 1020197633 REFERENCE ProQuest Number:10694088 All rights reserved INFORMATION TOALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscriptand there are missing pages,these will be noted.Also,if material had to be removed,a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10694088 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017).Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17,United States CodeMicroform Edition ◎ ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC.789 East Eisenhower ParkwayP.O.Box 1346Ann Arbor,MI 48106-1346 David Fram:Lithuanian Yiddish Poet of the South African Diaspora andIluminating Love Hazel Frankel A thesis and a novel submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements ofSheffield Hallam Universityfor the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2013 Abstract This thesis investigates the Yiddish poems of the South African Lithuanian immigrant DavidFram.It locates Fram's poetry and aesthetics in the context of Yiddish poetry in general andLithuanian-South African Yiddish literature in particular.In doing this it identifies andinvestigates Fram's main poetic themes,Diaspora,the memory of home and the condition ofexile;landscape and people,nature and creator;his response to the Holocaust suggestingpoetry is a legitimate means of expressing trauma.The thesis also deliberates on the potentialrelevance of taking Fram's biography and personal experiences into consideration wheninterpreting his poetry.It reflects on the approach to and process of writing both this thesisand the novel Illuminating Love,considering how thesis and novel relate to each other and toFram's poetry,as well as to the notion of postmemory.Indicating the antecedents ofIlluminating Love,the thesis discusses aspects of realism and postmodernism,genre andmixed genre,as well as development of voice,point of view and character in my novel.Inconclusion,suggestions are made for future projects that might be undertaken to revitalise thevibrant language of Yiddish and memorialise its community.The appendix containstranslations(following transliteration)of Fram's poems. The creative component of the thesis is the novel Illuminating Love.Its narrative entwines thejourneys of two Jewish women,Judith,forced to leave her home in Lithuania,Eastern Europebefore World War I,and Cally her granddaughter living in contemporary South Africa.Transcribing Judith’s poems in calligraphy,Cally uncovers her family's history and roots.The content of the love sampler she inscribes for her husband Jake,and the illuminating of aketuba(the Jewish marriage contract)serve to counterpoint her personal circumstances.Behind the gilding lies the reality of domestic violence,Judith's escape from the genocideand Jake's experiences in the bush during the South African Border War. Key topics:David Fram;Yiddish poetry;Lithuania;Holocaust;South African Yiddish;SouthAfrican Yiddish Poetry;Jewish Diaspora;South African Jewish Diaspora;memory;trauma;biography;postmemory;g

FAQs

What is the main focus of the thesis?

The thesis investigates David Fram’s Yiddish poems and situates his poetry and aesthetics in the context of Yiddish poetry, with special attention to Lithuanian-South African Yiddish literature.

Which themes are examined in Fram’s poetry?

It examines diaspora, memory of home and exile, landscape and people, nature and creator, and his response to the Holocaust, including poetry as a way to express trauma.

How does the novel Illuminating Love relate to the thesis?

The novel is the creative component; it interweaves the journeys of two Jewish women and links their experiences through poems, calligraphy, and key textual elements, with connections to realism, postmodernism, genre, and postmemory.

Oct 6, 2026

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