Burning Off the Page

This scintillating documentary about Russian-born American Yiddish poet and fiction writer Celia Dropkin (1887–1956) celebrates her unabashed writing about the female body and sexual liberation.  Considered radical during her lifetime, Dropkin shocked readers around the world with sexually explicit depictions of lust. Her work defied gender norms and complicated traditional narratives and boundaries. Her poems invoked violent and erotic imagery as well as Christian iconography to describe passion, yearning, and death. 

A hit at the Toronto and San Francisco Jewish Film Festivals, Eli Gorn’s documentary includes powerful dramatic readings, archival footage, historic recordings, and dazzling animations to bring Dropkin’s pioneering poems to life. Along with her descendants, Gorn interviews stars of the Jewish artistic world including writers, Yiddish translators, and musicians. This renewed interest in Celia Dropkin and her work is an exciting part of the ongoing revival of Yiddish culture today.