A. M. MANDELBOYM

A. M. MANDELBOYM (1885-June 2, 1952)

            He was born in Libeshev (Lyubeshiv), Ukraine.  He attended religious elementary schools.  At age sixteen he left home and moved to Kiev, where he supported himself by giving Hebrew lessons and for a time was an office employee.  He went on to live for a time in Warsaw, where he worked as a metal turner.  In 1906 he made his way to the United States, and he settled in New York where he worked in sweatshops producing cigars, boxes, and the like.  He began writing in Hebrew for Hatsfira (The siren) and Hazman (The time), among other serials, and in Yiddish he began writing for the New York Yiddish-language press.  He published stories and feature pieces in: Forverts (Forward), Fraye arbeter-shtime (Free voice of labor), Der arbayter (The worker), edited by Y. Shlosberg and D. Pinski, and Idishe arbayter velt (Jewish labor world) in New York.  He also contributed to: Roman-tsaytung (Fiction newspaper) and Hayom (Today) in Warsaw; and the anthology Literatur (Literature) in New York (1910), whose editorial collective included Y. Entin, Y. Slonim, and M. Y. Kheymovitsh.  In 1911 he moved to Canada and wrote for the weekly newspaper Der keneder id (The Canadian Jew), and together with Y. Gudman edited the humorous weekly Der keneder mazik (The Canadian brat)—later known as Der birger (The citizen)—both in Winnipeg.  In 1913 he returned to the United States, was living in San Francisco where for a year he edited (with Dr. Y. Vortsman) Kalifornyer idishe shtime (Jewish voice of California), and later again returned to Canada, where he contributed work to Keneder odler (Canadian eagle) in Montreal, and for a time served as the local editor of the newspaper in Toronto.  He edited the Winnipeg newspaper Dos idishe vort (The Jewish word), later serving as the lead contributor to Der idisher zhurnal (The Jewish journal) in Toronto.  Using such pen names as Pinkhes, Mefistofel, “Baysikl Reporter,” and Kol-Boynik, he wrote stories, features, and articles.  He was also the Canadian correspondent for Tog (Day) in New York.  From 1925 he was an internal contributor to Morgn-frayhayt (Morning freedom) in New York.  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 2; A. Pomerants, in Proletpen (Proletarian pen) (Kiev, 1935), p. 214; Y. Y. Sigal, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (June 24, 1952).

Zaynvl Diamant