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Trends in Yiddish Poetry
by SAMUEL KREITER
In the last seventy-odd years
which have transformed the world
and nations and changed man’s
modes of living, Yiddish expression
in America has gained strength,
stature and universal range. Its
progress is particularly notable in
its poetic artforms. What is heart
ening about this development is
that it happened in the face of
steadily diminishing book readers,
and growing lamentation about the
impending doom of Yiddish cul
ture.
Background
Yiddish folklore crystalized about
seven centuries ago. It stemmed
mainly from the history and ex
perience of the predominant Ash
kenazi group. Yiddish, together
with Hebrew, embodied the social,
religious and ethical values hand
ed down from generation to gen
eration. The influences of alien
languages and surrounding civiliza
tions contributed to the formation
and extension of Jewish thought
patterns and rendered Yiddish
what it is today.
When Jews settled in the Rhine
land region they adopted various
German dialects. These, however,
lacked terms to describe their spe
cific customs, rituals, and tradition
al practices. To make up for the
omissions the people drew on He
brew and Aramaic for the missing
expletives. In its evolution Yiddish
also linked the scattered Jewish
communities, except those of the
Mediterranean and Moslem coun
tries. Today it is classed as one
of the leading seven languages of
the world.
Toward the close of the 19th
century Russia and Poland, which
harbored the greatest number of
Jews, erupted with social unrest and
revolutionary conspiracies. Because
of their peculiar state of disfran
chisement and oppression Jews
eagerly and bravely participated
in the common struggle to win
freedom and equality. Poets geared
work to fan and stimulate the mass
pressure on despotism and tyran
ny. To evade capture and Siberian
exile they disguised their names
and resorted to thin symbolism.
Art was a weapon rather than an
aim.
The Social Motif
The flight of the Jews from Rus-
s.a and Polish pogroms, plunder
and poverty to the New World
grew into a tidal flood. Our coun
try admitted the tired, hungry and
huddled masses without fear or
The Southern Israelite
quota. They brought with them a
yearning for democratic living.
They rejoiced in our Constitutional
guarantees, but were troubled by
the sweatshop. Rampant exploita
tion and slums stirred in them feel
ings of despair, indignation and
protest. Four of the propaganda
poets who best personified the woes
and blues of the period were:
Morris Winchevsky ( 1856-1932),
Morris Rosenfeld (1862-1923), Da
vid Edelstadt (1866-1892), and Jo
seph Bofshover ( 1873-1915).
Winchevsky’s poetry possessed
restraint and persuasion (his prose
was noted for its whimsy and sa
tire). He portrayed men wrestling
with want, women trading honor
for food and shelter "The Three
Sisters,” children toiling in the
mills. His lyrics kindled in the
people hope and dreams of better
things to come.
Morris Rosenfeld denounced the
“System” in scathing strophes.
Following his arrival here in 1886,
he spent years in factories, break
ing his back over sewing machines.
People sang his songs in shops,
tenements, and at concert halls.
Their tone was harsh, tearful, of
ten vulgar with rage; their mood
was laden with gloom and resig
nation even when the theme was
lyrical.
Unlike his confreres who exclu
sively championed the oppressed of
all nations Rosenfeld showed cour
age by also singing of the perse
cuted, wandering Jew. He fused
the social motif and the theme of
Jewish identification in an eloquent
poetic synthesis. His poem, "Is
aiah,” published in The Recon
structionist, May 18, 1956 rings a
prophetic chord.
David Edelstadt arrived here in
1882. After a brief existence he
left a weKer of combative verses
many of which were set to Russian
folk tunes and they struck a re
sponsive chord. He urged the work
ers to rise and take over the world
from the rich.
Joseph Bofshover came to the
United States in 1891. His creative
life too was regrettably brief. The
social content of his lyrics revealed
a mildly intellectual, sardonic over
tone.
In summing up the history of
Yiddish poetry of the time ending
with the beginning of the 20th cen
tury, the poet Zisha Landau called
it an episode in the labor move
ment. The workers relished it.
The others were too busy making
money, and too eager to assimilate.
Transition: Die Junge
The tendencious lyric which ap
pealed in an age of ignorance, sen
timentality, storm and stress, and
class conflicts, began to decline.
The accent shifted to a more sub-
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