Abraham Regelson
Encyclopedia
Abraham Regelson was a Hebrew
poet
, author
, children's author, translator
, and editor
.
, in the Russian Empire
in 1896, and died at his home in Neveh Monossohn, Israel
in 1981. His parents were Yehuda Zeev Regelson and Rashel Ozick.
He is the maternal uncle of Cynthia Ozick
.
when he was nine years old. He studied at a heder and public schools. He never finished formal studies, but was an autodidact who spent many hours in libraries. At first he earned his livelihood as a librarian and Hebrew teacher, and began publishing his poetry, stories and translations in various Hebrew publications, both in America and in what was then early Jewish Palestine. His first aliya
(immigration) to Eretz Israel was in the year 1933. Employed by the daily newspaper Davar
, he was one of the founders of the children's weekly supplement Davar l'Yladim, where his well-loved classic "Masa HaBubot l'Eretz-Yisrael" ("The Dolls' Journey to Eretz Israel") was first published in installments. Three years later, after having lost an infant son, and with two of his older children endangered by malaria
, he returned to the US with his family. There he earned his living by writing for the Yiddish press, while publishing several books containing his Hebrew poetry, legends and philosophical essays.
, he was also on the staff of the daily newspaper Al Ha-Mishmar
, where he featured as a regular columnist.
Regelson's language is uniquely original, combining the old and the new in a captivating style. His innovative usages contributed to the rejuvenation of the Hebrew tongue. The influence of English literature added an appealing flavor to his work. He was a prolific translator and enriched Hebrew with many classics of English literature.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, children's author, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
.
Biography
Abraham Regelson was born in Hlusk, now BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in 1896, and died at his home in Neveh Monossohn, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1981. His parents were Yehuda Zeev Regelson and Rashel Ozick.
He is the maternal uncle of Cynthia Ozick
Cynthia Ozick
Cynthia Ozick is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. She is the niece of the Hebraist Abraham Regelson.-Background:Cynthia Shoshana Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children...
.
In the United States
Regelson emigrated with his family to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he was nine years old. He studied at a heder and public schools. He never finished formal studies, but was an autodidact who spent many hours in libraries. At first he earned his livelihood as a librarian and Hebrew teacher, and began publishing his poetry, stories and translations in various Hebrew publications, both in America and in what was then early Jewish Palestine. His first aliya
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
(immigration) to Eretz Israel was in the year 1933. Employed by the daily newspaper Davar
Davar
Davar was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.-History:Davar was established by Moshe Beilinson and Berl Katznelson, with Katznelson as its first editor. The first edition was published on 1 June 1925 under the name Davar - Iton...
, he was one of the founders of the children's weekly supplement Davar l'Yladim, where his well-loved classic "Masa HaBubot l'Eretz-Yisrael" ("The Dolls' Journey to Eretz Israel") was first published in installments. Three years later, after having lost an infant son, and with two of his older children endangered by malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, he returned to the US with his family. There he earned his living by writing for the Yiddish press, while publishing several books containing his Hebrew poetry, legends and philosophical essays.
In Israel in 1949
After Israel's establishment, he returned there in 1949. Appointed as an editor for the publishing house Am OvedAm Oved
-History:Am Oved was founded in 1942 by Berl Katznelson, who was its first Editor in Chief.It was created as an organ of the Histadrut, Israel's federation of Labor, with a goal of publishing books that would "meet the spiritual needs of the working public." Its most well-known series is "Sifriyah...
, he was also on the staff of the daily newspaper Al Ha-Mishmar
Al Ha-Mishmar
Al HaMishmar was a daily newspaper published in Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1943 and 1995. The paper was owned by, and affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair as well as the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine .-History:...
, where he featured as a regular columnist.
Regelson's language is uniquely original, combining the old and the new in a captivating style. His innovative usages contributed to the rejuvenation of the Hebrew tongue. The influence of English literature added an appealing flavor to his work. He was a prolific translator and enriched Hebrew with many classics of English literature.
Awards
- In 1964, Regelson was awarded the Brenner PrizeBrenner PrizeThe Brenner Prize is an Israeli literary prize awarded annually by the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and the Haft Family Foundation.It was founded in the name of the author Yosef Haim Brenner and was first awarded in 1945....
. - In 1972, he was awarded the Bialik PrizeBialik PrizeThe Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate prizes, one specifically for "Literature", which is in the field of fiction,...
for literatureHebrew literatureHebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews...
. - In 1976, he won the Neuman Prize from New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's (NYU) Hebrew Department for his contribution to Hebrew literature.
External links
- http://www.abrahamregelson.org/ - A commemorative website
- Many of Regelson's works have been made available through The Ben-Yehuda Project website at http://www.benyehuda.org/