Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur

לעקסיקאָן פֿון דער נײַער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור

He was a prose author, born to a poor family in a town in Byelorussia. In his youth he was captivated by the revolutionary movement and was active in the Bund. Fleeing persecution, he made his way to England, where he worked as a hat maker in London. Soon thereafter, though, he returned to Russia, settled in Minsk, and after the revolution he stood with the Bolsheviks, joining the Communist Party.

He wrote for the Minsk-based, Russian-language newspaper Zvezda (Star) in 1917. When the Yiddish Communist publication Der Shtern (The Star) was founded in 1918 in Minsk, he switched to writing in Yiddish. He wrote, 1922-1923, stories, sketches, and feature pieces (also under the pen names: H. M-l and Eris) in the Communist spirit for: the Communist Veker (Awakener) in Minsk; Morgn-Frayhayt (Morning Freedom) in New York; Naye Prese (New Press) in Paris; and other Communist publications in various countries.

In 1928 his first collection appeared in print in Minsk: Dertseylungen (Stories). He later turned to translating political as well as artistic literature. After the war it was reported that he had returned to his own creative writing in Yiddish. In 1947, on his sixtieth birthday, Eynikeyt (Unity) in Moscow remarked that he “remained associated until the present day with Yiddish literature and the press” and that “he is now working on a new book of stories.”

Nothing further has been heard from him.

In book form:

Dertseylungen (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publishers, 1928), 110 pp.;

Dertseylungen published in Minsk (Moskve; Kharkov; Minsk) by Tsentraler Felker-Farlag fun F.S.S.R., 1930.- 134, [1] pp.

Dray Shmulikes, Mayses fun Heldishn Amol (Three Shmuliks, Stories of a Heroic Past) (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publishers, 1932), 69 pp.

Among his translations, he published:

with Uri Finkel, Professor N. Nikol'skii’s Yidishe Yomtoyvim, Zeyer Oyfkum un Antiviklung (The Jewish Holidays, Their Origin and Development) (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publishers, 1925), 154 pp.;

with D. Meyerovitsh, A. Gurevitsh’s Lenin un di Profesyonele Faraynen (Lenin and the Trade Unions [original: Lenin i Professionalʹnye Soiuzy]) (Minsk: Central Council of Byelorussian Trade Unions, 1925), 93 pp.;

Fedor Panferov’s novel Bruski, vol 1 (Brusky) (Minsk: Central People’s Publishers, USSR, 1931), 399 pp.;

The novel Bruski in Russian consists of 4 books/parts. Only 2 were translated into Yiddish.

In 1931 book 1 was translated by Herts Mayzl, as referenced above. (Minsk: Central People’s Publishers, USSR, 1931), 399 pp. 

In 1933 book 2/part 2 was translated by N-G, edited by Moyshe Dubrovitskiand was published in Minsk: Melukhe-farlag fun Vaysrusland. Natssekter.- 317, [1] pp.

Petr Pavlenko’s Barikadn (Barricades [original: Barrikady]) (Moscow, 1934);

Vos Darf Visn a Kolvirtnik vegn der Kase far Kegnzaytiker Helf in di Kolvertn (What a Collective Farmer Should Know Concerning the Treasury for Mutual Aid in the Collective farm) (Moscow, 1935);

Y. Moshkovski’s Moskve-tsofn-polyus-moskve (Moscow-North Pole-Moscow) (Moscow: Emes, 1938), 207 pp.;

Emel'ian Yaroslavskii’s Vi Azoy der Marksizm Hot Tseshmetert dem Folkizm (How Marxism Crushed Folkism) (Moscow: Emes, 1940), 70 pp.;

among others.