Sholem Asch

Sholem Asch (1880-1957) was a Polish-Jewish novelist, dramatist, and essayist in the Yiddish language. He wrote 35 books, some of which were turned into plays. Most dealt with the Jewish experience of faith and life. His son was Moses “Moe” Asch, the legendary founder of Folkways Records (now owned by the Smithsonian Institution), which made a major contribution to the expansion of American folk music.