Shira Gorshman
Encyclopedia
Shira Gorshman was a Yiddish language
short story
writer and memoirist. She was born in the small town of Krakės
, Lithuania
to an extremely poor family and began working at a young age. She was able to achieve a basic education, and like many Eastern Europe
an Jews was multi-lingual. She was self-supporting by the time she was 14, and had her first daughter when she was 16.
At a young age, Gorshman moved to Kaunas
, where she became active in Zionist organizations. In 1924 she moved to Palestine
as a pioneer, and there worked doing heavy labor with Gdud HaAvoda
, a short-lived, left-wing Zionist
organization intended to create mobile labor pools for the nascent
Jewish colonies in Palestine. In Gdud ha-Avodah, members worked and lived together, pooling all income, while completing major construction projects such as road-building.
In 1928, with others from this group, Gorshman returned to the Soviet Union to build another utopian commune, this one an agricultural colony in Crimea
. Her much later memoir, In di shpurn fun gdud ha-avodah (In the Footsteps of Gdud ha-Avodah), published in 1998, describes both communal undertakings.
In Crimea Gorshman met Mendl Gorshman, a painter, and they moved to Moscow together. There she began writing. Her stories were published in Yiddish newspapers in Kiev and Moscow, and in numerous anthologies. Gorhsman remained in Moscow for many years, writing short stories and memoir
s. "The central hero in her work is the woman as a folk-figure in this uneasy historical epoch," wrote The Forward
in her obituary
. "This particular figure, through whom the writer embodied the important problems of reality, always appears in a time when the foundations of old forms of social organization are broken, and new relationships and alliances in social life and in the life of a new kind of family are being constructed." Gorshman moved to Israel
in 1990, where she continued to write and publish her stories. She died in Ashqelon in 2001.
Her books include Der koyekh fun lebn (The Power of Life), 33 noveln (33 Stories), Lebn un likht (Life and Light), Yontef in mitn vokh (Mid-Week Holiday), Oysdoyer (Resistance), Khanes shof un rinder (Chana’s Sheep and Cows), Ikh hob lib arumforn (I Love to Wander), Vi tsum ershtn mol (As If For the First Time), On a gal (Without Malice), and the aforementioned In di shpurn fun gdud ha-avodah. Very little of her work is available in English translation, but a story of hers appears in the anthology
Found Treasures and another is found in Beautiful as the Moon, Radiant as the Stars.
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer and memoirist. She was born in the small town of Krakės
Krakes
Krakės is a small town in Kėdainiai district, central Lithuania. It is located on the Smilgaitis River. In the town there is a Catholic church, convent, secondary school and post office....
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
to an extremely poor family and began working at a young age. She was able to achieve a basic education, and like many Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an Jews was multi-lingual. She was self-supporting by the time she was 14, and had her first daughter when she was 16.
At a young age, Gorshman moved to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, where she became active in Zionist organizations. In 1924 she moved to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
as a pioneer, and there worked doing heavy labor with Gdud HaAvoda
Gdud HaAvoda
G'dud HaʿAvodah VeHaHaganah ʿAl-Shem Yosef Trumpeldor , commonly known as Gdud HaAvoda, was a socialist Zionist work group in Mandate Palestine.The group was established on 8 August 1920, with the three focuses of work, settlement and defence...
, a short-lived, left-wing Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
organization intended to create mobile labor pools for the nascent
Nascent
Nascent may refer to:* Birth* Nascent hydrogen* Nascentes do Rio Parnaíba National Park, a national park of Brazil* Nascent-polypeptide-associated complex alpha polypeptide, a human gene* Nascent market...
Jewish colonies in Palestine. In Gdud ha-Avodah, members worked and lived together, pooling all income, while completing major construction projects such as road-building.
In 1928, with others from this group, Gorshman returned to the Soviet Union to build another utopian commune, this one an agricultural colony in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. Her much later memoir, In di shpurn fun gdud ha-avodah (In the Footsteps of Gdud ha-Avodah), published in 1998, describes both communal undertakings.
In Crimea Gorshman met Mendl Gorshman, a painter, and they moved to Moscow together. There she began writing. Her stories were published in Yiddish newspapers in Kiev and Moscow, and in numerous anthologies. Gorhsman remained in Moscow for many years, writing short stories and memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s. "The central hero in her work is the woman as a folk-figure in this uneasy historical epoch," wrote The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
in her obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
. "This particular figure, through whom the writer embodied the important problems of reality, always appears in a time when the foundations of old forms of social organization are broken, and new relationships and alliances in social life and in the life of a new kind of family are being constructed." Gorshman moved to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1990, where she continued to write and publish her stories. She died in Ashqelon in 2001.
Her books include Der koyekh fun lebn (The Power of Life), 33 noveln (33 Stories), Lebn un likht (Life and Light), Yontef in mitn vokh (Mid-Week Holiday), Oysdoyer (Resistance), Khanes shof un rinder (Chana’s Sheep and Cows), Ikh hob lib arumforn (I Love to Wander), Vi tsum ershtn mol (As If For the First Time), On a gal (Without Malice), and the aforementioned In di shpurn fun gdud ha-avodah. Very little of her work is available in English translation, but a story of hers appears in the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Found Treasures and another is found in Beautiful as the Moon, Radiant as the Stars.