MORRIS TUVYASH

MORRIS TUVYASH (November 29, 1880-August 16, 1961)

            He was born in Vilkomir (Ukmergė), Kovno district, Lithuania.  In 1884 he moved with his parents to Vilna.  He studied in religious elementary school, Rameyle’s yeshiva, and in the municipal Russian school.  In 1896 he became a worker in a print shop.  In 1902 he departed for England and, under the influence of Rudolf Rocker, joined the anarchist movement.  In 1906 he moved to the United States and settled in Boston.  He was a co-founder of the “Independent Workmen’s Circle” in 1914 and later its secretary until the unification with the general Workmen’s Circle.  He began writing for Arbayter fraynd (Workers’ friend) in London (1902), later contributing to: Di naye tsayt (The new time) in London (1904-1906); Fraye arbeter-shtime (Free voice of labor) in New York; Dos naye vort (The new word) in Boston (also its editor, 1925-1932); and other serials.  He published with Z. Osipov the anthology Tsurik tsum shoyresh (Return to the source) (Boston, 1948), 128 pp. in Yiddish and 15 pp. in English, as well as contributed to the editing of Git a shmeykhl, a bukh fun laykhtn humor un satire far ale ṭeg fun a gants yor (Give a smile, a book of light humor and satire for every day of the entire year), by Ben Gailing (Boston, 1949), 224 pp.  He died in Boston.

Sources: Biblyografishe yorbikher fun yivo (Bibliographic yearbooks from YIVO) (Warsaw, 1928), see index; obituary, Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (August 27, 1961); D. Ayzenberg, in Fraye arbeter-shtime (New York) (October 1, 1961).

Khayim Leyb Fuks