Songs of the Shtetl

by Marguerite Dorian

Through delicious drawings, yiddish songs along with their English translations, Songs of the Shtetl takes us on a sentimental journey to an small East European Jewish community from long ago. There is a parade of endearing the miracle working rabbi, the rich boss, the poor, hard-working Hasid, the prankish tailor, the wandering musicians, and of course, the matchmaker. The book is filled with affection, tenderness, endearment, charm, and humor.

52 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2018

About the author

Marguerite Dorian Taussig, also known as Margareta Dorian, was an illustrator, writer, and poet. Born in Romania to doctor and poet Emil Dorian, Marguerite spent her childhood in Bucharest. After the full establishment in 1948 of the communist regime, Margareta left Romania in August, meeting her father for the last time that September in Vienna. She lived and worked in Paris for several years. In 1952, she emigrated to the United States.

She was educated at the University of Bucharest, at the Sorbonne in Paris, Radcliffe Institute at Harvard, and Brown University in Providence, RI, where she has lived from 1952 up until her passing. She also held a degree in botany. Dorian taught at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Marguerite Dorian's work for both children and adults, as author and illustrator, has appeared in many publications, including the New Yorker and the New York Times. Lothrop, Lee & Shepherd Company published “The Alligators Toothache”, “The King Who Could Not Sneeze”, “The Year of the Waterbearer” and “When the Snow is Blue”- all both written and illustrated by Dorian. More recently her illustrations adorned the pages of The Songs of the Shtetl.