Lamed Shapiro
Encyclopedia
Levi Yehoshua Shapiro better known as "Lamed Shapiro", (that is, the initial for the Hebrew letter lamed), was an American Yiddish-language writer.
, Ukraine
. In 1896, he traveled to Warsaw
, struggled to work for two years, then returned to the Ukraine. He experienced a pogrom
, fell in love and attempted suicide, and was later conscripted into the Czar's army. These experiences would influence much of his rather dark, fictional themes. Shapiro returned to Warsaw in 1903, and I.L. Peretz
helped him publish his first literary works: "Di Fligl" (The Wings); and, the next year, a longer story called "Itsikl Mamzer" (Little Isaac the Bastard), published in a journal edited by Avrom Reyzen
. To Peretz he would dedicate on of his works, "Smoke," a tale of the Old World (Peretz would serve as an early benefactor of another famous Yiddish writer, Der Nister
).
Shapiro left for America in 1905. He stayed for a year in London, where he befriended the Hebrew writer Yosef Haim Brenner
. After arriving in New York in 1906, and working for The Jewish Daily Forward, he began publishing his gruesome pogrom
tales: "The Kiss" (1907); "Pour Out Thy Wrath" (1908); "The Cross" (1909); "In The Dead Town" (1910). Shapiro's work would mark a break from the three classic Yiddish writers, as violence and psychological realism foreground his work, rather than satirical commentary. Following this, Shapiro returned to Warsaw for a year, then returned permanently to the United States in 1911. By 1919, Shapiro had written what are considered his two greatest pogrom stories: "White Challah" and "The Jewish Government." The two stories "remain some of the most aesthetically nuanced and psychologically complex treatments of the pogrom theme in modern Jewish literature."
Shapiro and his family moved to Los Angeles
in 1921. His wife died there in 1927, and then he returned to New York. Back in New York yet again, Shapiro worked at several literary periodicals, was active in the communist party, and was employed by the WPA Federal Writers' Project in 1937. Shapiro returned to LA in 1939. He died there in 1948, supposedly while living in a friend's garage.
, noted translator of Yiddish literature and a novelist in his own right, wrote his MA thesis on Shapiro: “Lamed Shapiro: Master Craftsman of the Yiddish Short Stories”, Columbia University, 1957.
David Roskies, professor of Yiddish literature at The Jewish Theological Seminary, has done critical work on Lamed Shapiro, and places him in the context of WWI-era Jewish writers, like Isaac Babel
. See his book, The Literature of Destruction: Jewish Responses to Catastrophe. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1989.
Biography
He was born on March 10, 1878, in RzhyschivRzhyschiv
Rzhyschiv is a city in Kiev Oblast of Ukraine. The population is 7,611 as of 2010....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In 1896, he traveled to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, struggled to work for two years, then returned to the Ukraine. He experienced a pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
, fell in love and attempted suicide, and was later conscripted into the Czar's army. These experiences would influence much of his rather dark, fictional themes. Shapiro returned to Warsaw in 1903, and I.L. Peretz
I.L. Peretz
Isaac Leib Peretz , also known as Yitskhok Leybush Peretz and Icchok Lejbusz Perec or Izaak Lejb Perec , best known as I.L. Peretz, was a Yiddish language author and playwright. Payson R. Stevens, Charles M...
helped him publish his first literary works: "Di Fligl" (The Wings); and, the next year, a longer story called "Itsikl Mamzer" (Little Isaac the Bastard), published in a journal edited by Avrom Reyzen
Avrom Reyzen
Avrom Reyzen , Yiddish writer, poet, and editor. He was born in Koidanov . Supported by Yaknehoz , while in his early teens Reyzen sent articles to Dos Yudishes folks-blat in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He corresponded with Jacob Dinezon and Y. L...
. To Peretz he would dedicate on of his works, "Smoke," a tale of the Old World (Peretz would serve as an early benefactor of another famous Yiddish writer, Der Nister
Der Nister
thumb|250px|Der Nister sitting behind [[Marc Chagall]] at the [[Malakhovka, Moscow Oblast|Malakhovka]] Jewish boys refuge.Der Nister was the penname of Pinchus Kahanovich , a Yiddish author, philosopher, translator, and critic...
).
Shapiro left for America in 1905. He stayed for a year in London, where he befriended the Hebrew writer Yosef Haim Brenner
Yosef Haim Brenner
Yosef Haim Brenner was a Russian-born Hebrew-language author, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature.-Biography:Brenner was born to a poor Jewish family in Novi Mlini, Russian Empire...
. After arriving in New York in 1906, and working for The Jewish Daily Forward, he began publishing his gruesome pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
tales: "The Kiss" (1907); "Pour Out Thy Wrath" (1908); "The Cross" (1909); "In The Dead Town" (1910). Shapiro's work would mark a break from the three classic Yiddish writers, as violence and psychological realism foreground his work, rather than satirical commentary. Following this, Shapiro returned to Warsaw for a year, then returned permanently to the United States in 1911. By 1919, Shapiro had written what are considered his two greatest pogrom stories: "White Challah" and "The Jewish Government." The two stories "remain some of the most aesthetically nuanced and psychologically complex treatments of the pogrom theme in modern Jewish literature."
Shapiro and his family moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1921. His wife died there in 1927, and then he returned to New York. Back in New York yet again, Shapiro worked at several literary periodicals, was active in the communist party, and was employed by the WPA Federal Writers' Project in 1937. Shapiro returned to LA in 1939. He died there in 1948, supposedly while living in a friend's garage.
Work
- Afn yam [At the Sea], 1910
- Novelen [Novellas], 1910
- Di yidishe melukhe un andere zakhn [The Jewish Government and Other Things], 1919
- Nyu-yorkish un andere zakhn [New York and Other Things], 1931
- Fun korbn minkhe [From the Afternoon Offering], 1941
- Der shrayber geyt in kheyder [The Writer Goes to School], 1945
- Der Amerikaner Shed [The American Demon], an unfinished novel
- Ksuvim [Works], 1949
- The Jewish Government and Other Stories, edited and translated by Curt Leviant, 1971
- The Cross and Other Stories, edited by Leah Garrett, 2007.
Critical Discourse
Curt LeviantCurt Leviant
Curt Leviant is a retired Jewish Studies professor, as well as a novelist and translator.He came to the United States in 1938 and received his BA from CUNY , his MA from Columbia, and his PhD. from Rutgers, where he taught Hebraic studies from 1960. He writes for The Nation.-Novels:*The Yemenite...
, noted translator of Yiddish literature and a novelist in his own right, wrote his MA thesis on Shapiro: “Lamed Shapiro: Master Craftsman of the Yiddish Short Stories”, Columbia University, 1957.
David Roskies, professor of Yiddish literature at The Jewish Theological Seminary, has done critical work on Lamed Shapiro, and places him in the context of WWI-era Jewish writers, like Isaac Babel
Isaac Babel
Isaak Emmanuilovich Babel was a Russian language journalist, playwright, literary translator, and short story writer. He is best known as the author of Red Cavalry, Story of My Dovecote, and Tales of Odessa, all of which are considered masterpieces of Russian literature...
. See his book, The Literature of Destruction: Jewish Responses to Catastrophe. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1989.