Shmuel Halkin | |
---|---|
שמואל האַלקין | |
Born | Shmuel Zalmanovich Halkin December 5, 1897 |
Died | September 21, 1960 | (aged 62)
Resting place | Novodevichy Cemetery |
Other names | Samuil Zalmanovich Galkin |
Occupation | Poet |
Relatives |
|
Shmuel Zalmanovich Halkin ( Yiddish: שמואל האַלקין; Belarusian: Самуіл Залманавіч Галкін, romanized: Samuil Zalmanavič Halkin; Russian: Самуил Залманович Галкин, romanized: Samuil Zalmanovich Galkin; December 5, 1897 – September 21, 1960), also known as Samuil Galkin, was a Soviet poet who wrote lyric poetry and translated many writers into Yiddish.
Halkin was born in Rahachow, in what was then the Russian Empire (now Belarus) on December 5, 1897. [1] [2] [3] He was the youngest of nine children in a Hasidic, Jewish household and a cousin of Simon and Abraham Halkin. [4] [5]
Halkin was interested in Jewish culture as a child, later as a young man he would become interested in painting and literature before ultimately deciding to become a poet. [5] [6] In his youth he wrote his poetry in Hebrew, but from 1921 onwards he wrote in Yiddish. [7]
Halkin's first poems were published in 1917 in an anthology. He would then move to Moscow in 1922, after having lived in Kiyv for a year, where he published his debut collection Lider (Songs) with the help of David Hofstein. [6] [8] [9] This would not only be the foundation of his career, but part of the foundation of Soviet Jewish poetry. [10] These and his later works would earn his lyric poetry acclaim. [11] [2]
During World War II Halkin was a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and served on the editorial board of its journal Eynikayt, during which he wrote about the Shoah. [1] [8] Halkin would develop a cordial relationship with fellow committee member and neighbor Peretz Markish. [12] He was arrested in 1949 alongside other members of the committee but was spared execution alongside them in 1952, likely due to a heart attack he suffered while imprisoned that hospitalized him. He would go on to be released in 1955. [8] [13]
Along with his original works, Halkin was known for translating the poems of Pushkin, Yesenin, Blok, Mayakovsky, Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear into Yiddish. [1] [8] The last of which was directed by Sergei Radlov and produced at the Moscow State Jewish Theatre. [14]
Halkin supported zionism, and would be criticized for his advocacy of Jewish nationalism. [9]
Halkin died in Moscow, Soviet Union on September 21, 1960, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. [1] [15] He was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery.
Following his death more of Halkin's works would be posthumously released, notably his work on the chorus of Mieczysław Weinberg's sixth symphony. [16]
Shmuel Halkin | |
---|---|
שמואל האַלקין | |
Born | Shmuel Zalmanovich Halkin December 5, 1897 |
Died | September 21, 1960 | (aged 62)
Resting place | Novodevichy Cemetery |
Other names | Samuil Zalmanovich Galkin |
Occupation | Poet |
Relatives |
|
Shmuel Zalmanovich Halkin ( Yiddish: שמואל האַלקין; Belarusian: Самуіл Залманавіч Галкін, romanized: Samuil Zalmanavič Halkin; Russian: Самуил Залманович Галкин, romanized: Samuil Zalmanovich Galkin; December 5, 1897 – September 21, 1960), also known as Samuil Galkin, was a Soviet poet who wrote lyric poetry and translated many writers into Yiddish.
Halkin was born in Rahachow, in what was then the Russian Empire (now Belarus) on December 5, 1897. [1] [2] [3] He was the youngest of nine children in a Hasidic, Jewish household and a cousin of Simon and Abraham Halkin. [4] [5]
Halkin was interested in Jewish culture as a child, later as a young man he would become interested in painting and literature before ultimately deciding to become a poet. [5] [6] In his youth he wrote his poetry in Hebrew, but from 1921 onwards he wrote in Yiddish. [7]
Halkin's first poems were published in 1917 in an anthology. He would then move to Moscow in 1922, after having lived in Kiyv for a year, where he published his debut collection Lider (Songs) with the help of David Hofstein. [6] [8] [9] This would not only be the foundation of his career, but part of the foundation of Soviet Jewish poetry. [10] These and his later works would earn his lyric poetry acclaim. [11] [2]
During World War II Halkin was a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and served on the editorial board of its journal Eynikayt, during which he wrote about the Shoah. [1] [8] Halkin would develop a cordial relationship with fellow committee member and neighbor Peretz Markish. [12] He was arrested in 1949 alongside other members of the committee but was spared execution alongside them in 1952, likely due to a heart attack he suffered while imprisoned that hospitalized him. He would go on to be released in 1955. [8] [13]
Along with his original works, Halkin was known for translating the poems of Pushkin, Yesenin, Blok, Mayakovsky, Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear into Yiddish. [1] [8] The last of which was directed by Sergei Radlov and produced at the Moscow State Jewish Theatre. [14]
Halkin supported zionism, and would be criticized for his advocacy of Jewish nationalism. [9]
Halkin died in Moscow, Soviet Union on September 21, 1960, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. [1] [15] He was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery.
Following his death more of Halkin's works would be posthumously released, notably his work on the chorus of Mieczysław Weinberg's sixth symphony. [16]