NEKHAME LERER (MELAMED)

NEKHAME LERER (MELAMED) (April 1, 1916-January 1962)

            She was born in Grabovyets (Grabowiec), Lublin district, Poland, the sister of a Hebrew-Yiddish teacher.  In 1928 she moved to Argentina.  From her youth she demonstrated an inclination for painting, shaping, and playing fiddle and piano, as well as writing poetry.  She debuted in print with a poem entitled “Ikh volt gevolt, vi mayn mame” (I would like to be like my mother) in Di idishe tsaytung (The Jewish newspaper) in Buenos Aires (1942); it was republished in a number of anthologies, and from that time, she contributed poetry to: Morgn-tsaytung (Morning newspaper), Naye leben (New life), Di idishe tsaytung, Di prese (The press), and Ilustrirte literarishe bleter (Illustrated literary leaves), among others, in Buenos Aires.  In book form: Muter khane fun grabovits (Mother Hannah from Grabowiec), with a foreword by Yankev Botoshanski (Buenos Aires, 1945), 78 pp., third edition (1950); In benkendike shoen (In hours missed), poetry (Buenos Aires, 1948), 157 pp.  She also published under such pen names as: Nekhame Melamed, Neli Lerer, and Consuela.  She died in Buenos Aires.

Sources: A. L. Shusheym, in Di idishe tsaytung (Buenos Aires) (September 25, 1945; May 6, 1948); Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (January 25, 1946; May 3, 1948); Botoshanski, Mame yidish (Mother Yiddish) (Buenos Aires, 1949), p. 246; Botoshanski, in Zamlbukh fun shtriker-fabrikant (Collection from the knitting factory) (Buenos Aires, 1961), pp. 296-97; Y. Karkutshanski, in Di yudishe tsaytung (Rio de Janeiro) (July 25, 1952); oral information from M. V. Bernshteyn.

Khayim Leyb Fuks