MULYE KAHAN

MULYE KAHAN (February 15, 1909-April 6, 1986)

            He was born Shmuel-Iser Kahane in Sventsyan (Svencionys), Vilna district, Lithuania.  From 1941 he was known by the pen name Tsalel Blits (Tzalel Blitz).  In 1927 he graduated from a Tsisho (Central Jewish School Organization) high school.  In 1931 he received the title of agricultural engineer from the University of Toulouse.  He emigrated to Brazil in 1935 and a year later to Argentina.  He worked there until 1945 in his field of agronomy with the YIKO (Jewish Cultural Organization) colony.  Over the years 1952-1969, he served as director of the Y. L. Perets and middle school in the Buenos Aires suburb of Villa Lynch.  In Poland he published poetry and reportage pieces in:  Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves), Vokhnshrift far literatur (Weekly writing for literature), Literarishe tribune (Literary tribune), and Der fraynd (The friend).  After moving to Argentina, he contributed poetry, articles, literary criticism, and reportage work to all the leftist publications on the American continent, as well as to Sovetish heymland (Soviet homeland) in Moscow and Naye prese (New press) in Paris.  From 1940 he was a regular contributor to and co-editor of the journals Ikuf (IKUF = Jewish Cultural Association) and In gang (In progress), and the daily newspapers Folksshtime (Voice of the people), Der veg (The way), and Haynt (Today).  Most recently he was editor of the biweekly Undzer lebn (Our life).  Among his books: Troymen ongeton in shtol, kvershnitn (Dreams dressed in steel, cross-sections) (Buenos Aires: IKUF, 1948), 450 pp.; Di tshenovitser konstitutsye, tsum fertsikstn yorṭog fun der tshernovitser konferents (The Czernowitz constitution, on the fortieth anniversary of the Czernowitz [Language] Conference) (Buenos Aires: IKUF, 1948), 32 pp.; Trit af san martinisher erd (Steps on the terrain of San Martín) (Buenos Aires: IKUF, 1961), 190 pp.; A rayze tsu undzer veytik un tsu undzer freyd (A voyage to our pain and our joy) (Buenos Aires: IKUF, 1961), 344 pp.  His translations include: Ralph Parker, Di farshverung kegn sholem, notitsn fun an englishn zhurnalst (The Conspiracy against Peace: Notes of an English Journalist]) (Buenos Aires: Heymland, 1949), 166 pp.; Boris Polevoi, Di geshikhte fun an ekhtn mentshn (The history of an authentic person [original: Povestʹ o nastoiashchem cheloveke) (Buenos Aires: IKUF, 1953), 358 pp.  Kahan’s longer essays may also be found in: Pinkes varshe (Records of Warsaw), Argentiner yivo-shriftn (YIVO writings from Argentina), and the anthology Halber yorhundert (Half a century), among others.  He died in Buenos Aires.

Sources: P. Kats, Geklibene shriftn (Selected writings), vol. 7 (Buenos Aires, 1947), p. 152; A. G. [Goldberg], in Yidishe kultur (New York) (March 1970); Sovetish heymland (Moscow) 6 (1977).

Yoysef Horn