Y. KISIN (I. KISSIN) (August 5, 1886-July 25, 1950)
He was
born Yekusiel Garnitski in Grodno.[1] He published fiction, essays, and
translations. His father was a
preacher. In 1892 he moved with his
parents to Kovno. He attended religious
elementary school and received a general education with private tutors. He emigrated to the United States in
1904. He published poetry, stories,
essays, literary critical articles, and translations in: Literatur un leben (Literature and life), Tog (Day), Tsukunft
(Future), Di naye velt (The new
world), Fraye arbeter shtime (Free
voice of labor), Der inzel (The
island), Der veker (The alarm), Forverts (Forward) for which he was a
regular contributor for twenty-five years, Nay-idish
(New Yiddish), and Der obhoyb (The
beginning), among others. His poems also
appeared in: B. Vladek, Fun der tifenish fun hartsn, a
bukh fun laydn un kamf
(From the depths of the heart, a book of suffering and struggle) (New York:
Miler and Hillman, 1917); Mani Leyb, Nyu-york
in ferzn (New York in verse) (New York: Inzel, 1918); Zishe Landau, Antologye, di yidishe dikhtung in amerike biz yor 1919 (Anthology,
Yiddish poetry in America until 1919) (New York: Idish, 1919); Nakhmen
Mayzil, Amerike in yidishn vort (America
in the Yiddish word) (New York, 1955); and Shimshon Meltser, Al naharot, tisha maḥazore
shira misifrut yidish (By the rivers, nine cycles
of poetry from Yiddish literature) (Jerusalem, 1956). Longer works were published in: Di naye velt (May-June 1920), on the
Yiddish Introspectivists; Tsukunft 4
(1922), on Borekh Glazman; and Lite
(Lithuania), vol. 1 (New York, 1951), which he also co-edited, on Elyokem
Tsunzer and Lithuania in poetry and prose; among others. His other works include: Edgar elen po, ophandlung (Edgar Allan Poe, treatment) (New York,
1919), 44 pp.; Gezamelte shriftn
(Collected writings) (New York, 1922), 295 pp.; Lider fun der milkhome, antologye (Poetry from the war, anthology)
(New York: Biblyotek fun poezye un eseyen, 1943), 240 pp., a collection of
poems by over 200 poets from various countries, many of them translated by
Kisin himself; Lid un esey (Poem and
essay) (New York, 1953), 320 pp. His
translations include: Edward Stilgebauer, Der
gehenem (Inferno [original: Inferno,
Roman aus dem Weltkrieg (Inferno, a novel of the world war)]) (New York: Naye velt,
1918), 298 pp.; Meïr
Goldschmidt, Der id (The Jew
[original: En Jøde]) (New York: Naye velt, 1919), 344 pp.; Mikhail
Tugan-Baronovsky, Sotsyalistishe kolonyen
(Socialist colonies) (New York: Jewish Socialist Federation of America, 1919),
80 pp.—the above three translations in his original name of Y. Garnitski; Edgar
Allan Poe, Oysgevehlte verk (Selected
works), vol. 2 (New York: Yidish, 1920)—vol. 1 translated by Leon Elbe; Peter
Kropotkin, Gezamelte shriftn (Collected
writings) (New York: Kropotkin Literature Society, 1922), 295 pp.; and Der veg tsu frayhayt (The road to
freedom), a series of translations published in various newspapers and anthologies—from
Maxim Gorky, Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Heinrich Heine, Omar
Khayyam, and others. “Kisin,” noted A.
Tabatshnik, “is the poet of reflective and intellectual lyricism…. [His essays are often] competent,
instructive, and well-written pieces of work.”
He died in Dayton, Ohio.
Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; Talush, Yidishe
shrayber (Yiddish writers) (New York, 1953), pp. 198-205; Lite (Lithuania), vol. 1 (New York,
1951), pp. 1015-19; Ruvn Ayzland, Fun undzer friling (From our spring) (Miami
Beach and New York, 1954), pp. 173-75; A. Tabatshnik, in Tsukunft (New York) 5 (1954); D. Shub, Fun di amolike
yorn (From
years gone by), vol.2 (New York, 1970), pp. 644-46; Yankev Glatshteyn, Prost un poshet,
literarishe eseyen (Plain and simple,
literary essays) (New York, 1978); Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York).
Berl Cohen
No comments:
Post a Comment