ARN KARLIN

ARN KARLIN (Hanukkah [November 29-December 6] 1887-July 23, 1972)

            He was born in Ternivke (Ternivka), Podolia, Ukraine.  He studied in religious elementary school until age thirteen.  In 1900 he came to the United States, where he became a peddler and did business.  He debuted in print with a poem in 1905 in Dovid Pinski’s Der arbeter (The worker).  He placed poems and translations from English in: Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor), Kundes (Prankster), Nay-idish (New Yiddish), Kibitser (Kibitzer), and Zayn (Being), among other serials.  He concerned himself more with publishing literary periodicals and books of others than with his own written work: 1908, Dovid Ignatov’s first book Tsvey kreftn (Two crabs); 1909, the anthology Troymen un virklikhkeyt (Dreams and reality), edited by Jacob Adler and Yoyel Slonim; 1911, the humor newspaper Di literarishe gazlen (The literary thief), edited by Jacob Adler and Yitskhok Rayz; 1913, the weekly newspaper Di literarishe velt (The literary world), edited by Avrom Reyzen.  The goal of all these publications was to create a platform for young talent.  In this he succeeded with his founding in 1919 of Di feder (The pen) together with several young poets.  This periodical was founded as a “monthly journal for literature, criticism, music, and painting,” but it subsequently appeared sporadically, until it finally ceased publication in 1953.  Aside from a few issues, the writing was edited by Karlin.  He published there original poetry and translation of Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Thomas, Ella Vila, and Emile Riuz, among others.  In book form: Mayn sakhakl, lider un iberzetsungen (My summing up, poems and translations) (New York, 1971), 80 pp.  His translations include: Oscar Wilde, Di balade fun reding turme (The Ballad of Reading Gaol) (New York, 1925), 32 pp.  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; Di feder (New York) (1945); B. Rivkin, in Zayn (New York) (May 1967; September 1972); Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York).

Yekhezkl Lifshits