Portraits of Yiddish Writers in the Polish-Jewish Press in the Years 1918-1939

Abstract

The aim of the article is to show the ways issues concerned with Yiddish writers are presented in the interwar Jewish press published in Polish. The periodical were targeted to Polish language readers, i.e. ones who were not able to read Yiddish literature. The writers were divided into four groups: classics (Mendele Mocher Sforim, Isaac Leib Peretz, Sholem-Aleichem), the middle generation (Sholem Asch, Joseph Opatoshu, Zusman Segałowicz and Jehoszua Perle) and the youngest one (Abraham Zak, Efroim Kaganowski, Rachel Korn, Itzik Manger and Kalman Lis). The last specific group is made up by the authors whose works and not printed, but nevertheless newspapers publish reviews of their volumes, e.g. Chaim Siemiatycki. The most frequent forms of statements presenting the figure of an author include: biographical sketches, interviews, translations of his statements or of articles published in Yiddish press, accounts of his meetings, journeys, important events concerning his person or his work, sketches concerning his whole work or its chosen aspects, reviews and translations of his works. Conclusions are based on such periodicals as: “Nasz Przegląd”, “Nowy Dziennik”, “Chwila”, “Opinia”, “Nasza Opinia”, “Nasz Głos”, “Dziennik Nowy”, “Kurier Nowy”.