BER KARLINSKI

BER KARLINSKI (1886-March 17, 1935)

            A journalist, he was born Kolne (Kolno), Lomzhe district, Poland.  He descended from a scholarly family of means.  He attended religious elementary school and the yeshivas of Lomzhe and Navaredok.  In 1901 he moved to Bialystok where he studied on his own.  In 1904 he settled in Warsaw.  His literary activities began in Nokhum Sokolov’s Telegraf (Telegraph).  He was editor of Benyomen Shimin’s publishing house “Velt-biblyotek” (World library) and prepared a number of translations for it: Arthur Schnitzler, Gezamelte shriften (Collected writings), 2 vols. (Warsaw, 1909-1910); Knut Hamsun, Di shtime fun leben, Der bezyegter (The call of life; The conquered) (Warsaw, 1909), 32 pp.; Max Nordau, Oysgevehlte shriften (Selected writings), vol. 1 (Warsaw, 1909), 81 pp.; Yehuda Shteinberg, In yene teg (In days gone by [original Bayamim hahem]) (Warsaw, 1909/1910), 105 pp.; Hillel Tsaytlin, Dos problem fun guts un shlekhts bay yuden un bay andere felker (The problem of good and bad for Jews and other peoples [original: Das Problem von ʻGut und böseʼ bei Juden u. a. Völker]) (Warsaw, 1911), 246 pp.; Yehuda Shteinberg, Khsidishe mayselekh un ertsehlungen; In yene tsayten [teg], zikhroynes fun a kantonist (Hassidic tales and stories; In days gone by, memoirs of a cantonist) (Warsaw, 1912), 73 pp. + 105 pp.; Max Nordau, Paradoksen un andere shriften (Paradoxes and other writings) (Warsaw, 1913), 239 pp., second edition (New York, 1915).  He participated in compiling Yudishe geshikhte (Jewish history), following H. Graetz and S. Dubnov, among others, and adapted the biography Napoleon I (Napoleon I).  From 1915 he was a regular contributor to Moment (Moment) in Warsaw, and from 1924 he edited its literary supplement entitled Mentshn un verk (People and work).  He published therein numerous articles on literature and theater.  He also wrote stories, reviews, and bibliographic notices in: Teater-velt (Theater world) in Warsaw (1911); Lidskis familyen-kalendar (Lidski’s family calender) (1910-1911); Avrom Reyzen’s Sukes-blat, literarishe zamlung (Succoth sheet, a literary collection) (Warsaw-New York, 1911); L. Kestin’s Naye himlen (New skies) (1921); and in Der hoyzfraynd (The house friend) in Warsaw (1932), a popular literary piece of work.  He edited the anthology Moyshe (Moses) (Warsaw, 1910) and the collection Orves (Guarantee) (Warsaw, 1913).  In book form: Dos tog-bukh fun a gevezener partey-firerin (The diary of a former female party leader) (Warsaw, 1908), 98 pp.; Fremd-verterbukh, enthalṭ ale fremde verter, oysdriken, frazen, u. a. v., vos kumen for in der literatur un in leben (Foreign-language dictionary, including all foreign words, expressions, phrases, etc., which have entered literature and life) (Warsaw: B. Shimin, 1910), 275 pp.—using the name B. Karliner, with several subsequent printings.  Karlinski’s three-act drama Shturem-bleter (Storm leaves) was staged in “Hazemir” (Thye nightingale) in Warsaw.  “One of the very few…who never made the least compromise,” wrote Meylekh Ravitsh, “not only not ideological but even not in the form of writing.”  Among his pen names: B. Karlinius, B. K.-y (mainly used with translations), and B. Karliner.  He also spelled his first name Boez.  He died in Warsaw.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; Meylekh Ravitsh, Mayn leksikon (My lexicon), vol. 2 (Montreal, 1947); Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) 12 (1935); Z. Reyzen, in Literarishe bleter (March 1935); Elkhonen Tsaytlin, In a literarisher shtub, bilder, bagegenishn, epizodn (In a literary home, images, meetings, episodes) (Buenos Aires, 1946), pp. 127-28; Zusman Segalovitsh, Tlomatske 13, fun farbrente nekhtn (13 Tłomackie St., of zealous nights) (Buenos Aires: Central Association of Polish Jews in Argentina, 1946), see index; B. Kutsher, Geven amol varshe (As Warsaw once was) (Paris, 1955), see index; Pinkes varshe (Records of Warsaw) (Buenos Aires, 1955), p. 820; Froym Kaganovski, Yidishe shrayber in der heym (Paris: Oyfsnay, 1956), pp. 433-37; Avrom Zak, Geven a yidish poyln, eseyen un dermonungen (There was a Jewish Poland, essays and remembrances) (Buenos Aires, 1968), pp. 180-87; Itonut yehudit shehayta (Jewish press that was) (Tel Aviv, 1973), see index; Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York).

Berl Cohen