S. D. LEVINE (SHMUEL-DOVID LEVIN)

S. D. LEVINE (SHMUEL-DOVID LEVIN) (January 10, 1885-December 31, 1977)

            He was born in Mikhailishok (Mikališkis), Vilna region, to a father who was a ritual slaughterer.  He attended religious elementary schools and the yeshivas of Smargon (Smorgon), Ilye (Ilya), and Orshe (Orshi).  In 1900 he came to the United States and settled in Chelsea, near Boston, where he attended an English school.  In 1905 he became an active member of the American Socialist Party and secretary of the Jewish divisions of the Socialist Party in Massachusetts.  After the 1919 split in the Socialist Party, he went with the leftists.  He began journalistic activities with Forverts (Forward) in New York, in which around 1905 he published notices about the socialist labor movement in Massachusetts.  He later published articles about community and political life in Boston.  In 1909 he became assistant representative for the Boston division of Forverts and the official Boston correspondent for the newspaper.  In 1920 (using the pen name Joe Kramer) he sent in correspondence pieces from Boston to the leftist weekly newspaper Der emes (The truth) in New York.  In 1922 he became representative of the New York-based Frayhayt (Freedom) from Boston, and from that point on he was linked with this newspaper, as well as with Morgn-frayhayt (Morning freedom).  His books include: 50 yor forverts, di rol fun forverts in dem idishn lebn (Fifty years at the Forverts, the role of the Forverts in Jewish life) (New York, 1948), 64 pp.; Heldn fun folk, biografyes fun barimte amerikaner frayhayts-kemfer, historishe pasirungen (Heroes of the people, biographies of important American freedom fighters, historical events) (New York, 1956), 256 pp.; Kapitlen fun mayn lebn, zikhroynes (Chapters from my life, memoirs) (New York, 1971), 288 pp.  His pen names: Shmuel-Dovid, Mikhailishok, and V. Seldin.  He died in New York.

Sources: M. Nadir, in Morgn-frayhayt (New York) (December 22, 1934); A. Pomerants, Proletpen (Proletarian pen) (Kiev, 1935), p. 213; Y. B. Beylin, in Morgn-frayhayt (September 24, 1955; December 9, 1956); Z. Vaynper, in Yidishe kultur (New York) (December 1956); R. Yuklson, in Yidishe kultur (August-September 1957).

Benyomen Elis

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 348.]