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Chapter 9 Thought Questions

1. What was the Society for Jewish Folk Music?   Why did it come into being . . . and why at that time and place?  How did it get its name? What did it accomplish?
   
2. Select three Yiddish songwriters  from the 19^th and 20^th centuries that you feel played a significant role in the history of Yiddish music.  For each, discuss the contributions that made you choose that person.
   
3. To what do you attribute the so-called “klezmer revival?” Why do you think the revival occured when it did? Who were some of the key figures in that revival, and what role did they play?
   
4. In your own thinking, what is the place of Yiddish-language theater and Cinema in the history of those arts in America?  Have they had any influence on the non-Jewish world?  Why do you think they no longer command the audience they once did?
   
5. If you were invited to give a lecture to a synagogue “study group” on Yiddish folk music, what primary sources would you hunt for in order to prepare your talk?