Michael Wex (born September 12, 1954) is a Canadian novelist, playwright, translator, lecturer, performer, and author of books on language and literature.^[1] His specialty is Yiddish and his book Born to Kvetch was a surprise bestseller in 2005.^[1] Wex lives in Toronto.

Michael Wex was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to a family of descendants of Rebbes of Ciechanów and Stryków. He has taught at the University of Toronto and the University of Michigan.^[2]

Works

• The Frumkiss Family Business. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2010. ISBN 978-0-307-39776-8
• How to Be a Mentsh (and Not a Shmuck). Harper, 2009. ISBN 978-0-061-77111-8
• Just Say Nu: Yiddish for Every Occasion (When English Just Won't Do). New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007. ISBN 0-312-36462-8
• Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language And Culture in All Its Moods. Publisher: St. Martin's Press (September 1, 2005). ISBN 0-312-30741-1
• Born to Kvetch (Audio CD). ISBN 0-06-113122-9
• Shlepping the Exile, 1993, ISBN 0-88962-542-5
• The Adventures of Micah Mushmelon, Boy Talmudist. 2007.
• Die Abenteuer des Micah Mushmelon, kindlicher Talmudist (dt. von Heiko Lehmann, Wagenbach 2005)
• Classic Yiddish Stories of S.Y. Abramovitsh, Sholem Aleichem, and I.L. Peretz. (Michael Wex, translator) 2004. ISBN 0-8156-0760-1
• The Wishing-Ring by S.Y. Abramovitsh (Michael Wex, translator). 2003. ISBN 0-8156-3035-2
• God in Paris (performance)
• Sex in Yiddish (performance)
• Judenverwolkung, or Meshiekh's Tsaytn (performance)
• I Just Want to Jewify (The Yiddish Revenge on Wagner) (performance)
• Rhapsody in Schmaltz: Yiddish Food and Why We Can't Stop Eating It