MORRIS ROZENFELD (ROSENFELD)

MORRIS ROZENFELD (ROSENFELD) (December 28, 1862-June 22, 1923)

            He was a poet, born with the given name of Moyshe-Yankev-Alter in the village of Stare Boksze, Suvalk (Suwałki) district.  His father Froym-Leyb was a military tailor.  In his childhood he moved with his parents to Warsaw, and later to Suwałki where he studied for many years in religious elementary school.  After marrying, he was supported by his in-laws and spent every day in synagogue study hall with a page of Talmud.  He familiarized himself a little with German and Polish and read numerous books in Hebrew.  He knew by heart poems by Elyokim Tsunzer, Mikhl Gordon, Avrom Goldfaden, and others, and at age fifteen he also wrote some Yiddish poetry and florid prose.  In 1882 he departed for the United States but soon returned.  At that time, his parents had made their way to London, and Rozenfeld traveled there, later fetching his wife to join them from Suwałki.  There he took up tailoring and lived in bitter want.  He grew close to the anarchist “Berner Street Club” and wrote labor poetry, but London’s Arbayter-fraynd (Workers’ friend) did not publish it.  In the late summer of 1886, he again traveled to the United States and worked in a tailor’s shop in New York, initially as a baster and later as a presser.  Rozenfeld’s first published poem, entitled “Dos yohr 1886” (The year 1886), appeared in Nyu-yorker yudishe folkstsaytung (New York Jewish people’s newspaper) (December 17, 1886).  He would only published two more poems there (January 14, 1887; nos. 28 and 30).  These poems were very poor, merely rhymed agitation.  He published (1888-1889) propagandistic socialist poems which were big hits with the laboring Jewish populace.  The poems in Rozenfeld’s first book, Di glokke (The bell), according to Zalmen Reyzen, “excelled in their thorough tendentiousness and their defects in form, their Germanisms, and their inept rhyming, often with a spirited, heartfelt tone and with genuine poetic carriage.”  In his second book of poems, Di blumenkette (The chain of flowers), he showed distinct signs of the later poet and marked the beginning of a new period in his creative work.  Neither book, however, had any success—Rozenfeld later bought up the remaining copies of Di glokke and burned them.  In the late 1880s and 1890s, he published work in the anarchist Vahrhayt (Truth), Der morgen-steren (The morning star), and Yudishes folksblat (Jewish people’s newspaper) in St. Petersburg.  With the emergence of Arbayter tsaytung (Workers’ newspaper), Rozenfeld became a regular contributor and published in it many of his best labor poems.  His poetry was sung in the sweatshops and at meetings and concerts of laborers.  He was a great speaker, and he would appear at socialist and union events.  He sought to make a living with his appearances and thus left the sweatshop; but he was unable to earn a living in this way and had no choice but to return to the sweatshop.  The work of a presser was beyond his strength, and he became ill; he thus had to quit working there and take up peddling his books in New York and across the country.  He had a fine tenor’s voice, and he would sing his poems at events and meetings.  He became very popular, although neither from peddling his books, nor from his concerts, nor from his writings for the Yiddish press was he able to make a living.  All of the bitterness that accumulated in his heart, especially against the Yiddish publishers and writers, he emptied into the satirical weekly Der ashmeday (Asmodeus) in New York (1894) which he published together with Avrom-Mikhl Sharkanski.  The motto of the newspaper was: “Smack the chin so that the teeth rattle!”  In June-July 1892 he co-edited Di zun (The sun) in New York.  With his third collection, Dos lieder bukh (The volume of poems), of 1897, there was an upheaval in his work and poetic recognition.  This was thanks to Leo Wiener, professor of Slavic languages at Harvard University, who had early on written several good pieces in Boston’s Transcript about Rozenfeld and his poetry, translated some of the poems, and published them with a major American publishing house: Songs from the Ghetto (Boston: Copeland and Day, 1898), 115 pp.  This gave him an international reputation.  Soon, Rozenfeld’s poems were being translated into other European languages.  In 1900 he went as a delegate to the Zionist congress.  He left the steambath-tailor’s business, and thanks to his renown now reached the press as a professional journalist.  Around 1901 he became a contributor to Der teglikher herald (The daily herald); he wrote (1902-1904) for the daily Di idishe velt (The Jewish world), as well as published in the European serials Der yud (The Jew), Der fraynd (The friend), and Dos leben (The life), among others.  With Sharkanski he edited Der pinkes (The record), “a magazine for literature, history, and contemporary issues” (New York, 1900); he edited Morgen blat (Morning newspaper) in New York (1905) which appeared for several months and Nyu-yorker tageblat (New York daily newspaper) (1905).  Suddenly, however, a great tragedy befell Rozenfeld—his fifteen-year-old, only son Yoysef died.  Rozenfeld became paralyzed over half his body and faced the danger of going blind (H. Leivick later used this theme for his play Der dikhter vert blind [The poet goes blind]).  With time his health improved, and he became a contributor to the Forverts (Forward) in New York, for which he regularly wrote twice each week and revealed himself as a prose writer and feuilletonist.  In 1908 he made a tour of Western Europe and Galicia and was welcomed everywhere with great honor.  Happy times did not last for long.  In 1913 he was ejected from the Forverts, and he began writing for the Orthodox Yidishes tageblat (Jewish daily newspaper) which was not close to his heart.  Rozenfeld became highly embittered, lived in constant feuds with Yiddish writers and editors, and wrote little—and this was far from Rozenfeld’s earlier poetic vigor.  In 1921 he was dismissed in a very vulgar manner from Yidishes tageblat, and he was further isolated now from the literary environment.  From time to time, he published a poem in Morgen zhurnal (Morning journal) or Der amerikaner (The American), to which he was linked over the last years of his life, and on the whole these were poems of resignation, bitterness, and terrible loneliness.  He died in New York, and thousands attended his funeral, but the working masses were absent, and it was for them that he had written his best poems.  He was buried near Sholem-Aleichem’s grave.

            His work appeared in a number of anthologies, readers, and songbooks: Nakhmen Mayzil, Amerike in yidishn vort (America in the Yiddish word) (New York, 1955); Yitskhok-Elkhonen Rontsh, Amerike in der yidisher literatur (America in Yiddish literature) (New York, 1945); Moshe Basok, Mivḥar shirat yidish (Selection of Yiddish poetry) (Tel Aviv, 1963); Shimshon Meltser, Al naharot, tisha maḥazore shira misifrut yidish (By the rivers, nine cycles of poetry from Yiddish literature) (Jerusalem, 1956); Avraham Tsvi Halevy’s Mehashira haidit baamerika (From the Yiddish poetry in America) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1967); Morris Basin, 500 yor yidishe poezye (500 years of Yiddish poetry) (New York, 1917); Amerikaner yidishe poezye (American Yiddish poetry) (New York, 1940); Lidskis familyen almanakh (Lidski’s family almanac) (Warsaw, 1908-1909); Yankev Fikhman, Di yudishe muze (The Yiddish muse) (Vilna: B. Shimin, 1911); Leyb Yofe, Lieder farn folk, a zamlung fun natsyonal-yidishe poezye (Poems for the people, a collection of national Jewish poetry) (Odessa, 1908); Dovid Kasel, Gezang un deklamatsye, lider zamlung (Songs and recitations, song collection), vol. 1 (Warsaw: A. Gitlin, 1913); Yoyel Entin, Fun idishen kval, a yidish lehr-bukh un khrestomatye, tsveytes un drites yor far shul un hoyz (From Jewish springs, a Yiddish textbook and reader, second and third year for school and home) (New York: M. N. Mayzel, 1916); Entin, Yidishe poetn, hantbukh fun yidisher dikhtung (Yiddish poets, a handbook of Yiddish poetry) (New York: Jewish National Labor Alliance and Labor Zionist Party, 1927); Zishe Landau, Antologye, di yidishe dikhtung in amerike biz yor 1919 (Anthology, Yiddish poetry in America until 1919) (New York: Idish, 1919); Mut (Courage) (Moscow, 1920); Mortkhe Birnboym and Dovid Kasel, Mayn bukh, lernbukh farn tsveytn lernyor (My book, textbook for the second school year) (Warsaw, 1921); Shloyme Bastomski and Zalmen Reyzen, Dos lebedike vort (The living word) (Vilna: Kultur-lige, 1928); Antireligyezer literarishe leyenbukh (Anti-religious literary textbook) (Moscow-Minsk: Central Publ., 1930); Yisroel Rabinovitsh, Der arbeter in der yidisher literatur (The worker in Yiddish literature) (Moscow-Minsk: Central Publ., 1931); Y. Dovid Kurland, Di ershte yidishe arbeter-dikhter (The first Yiddish labor poet) (Minsk: Central Publ., 1931); Aḥisefer (New York, 1943); Y. Kisin, Lider fun der milkhome, antologye (Poetry from the war, anthology) (New York: Biblyotek fun poezye un eseyen, 1943); Moyshe Shtarkman, Hamshekh-antologye (Hamshekh anthology) (New York, 1945); Mikhl Gelbart, Zingt mit mir, lider far heym, shul, yontoyvim un fayerungen (Sing with me, songs for home, school, holidays, and celebrations) (New York, 1945); Ḥol veruaḥ (Sand and wind) (Ḥolon, 1964); Yoysef and Khane Mlotek, Perl fun der yidisher poezye (Pearls of Yiddish poetry) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1974); Joseph Milbauer, Poètes yiddish d’aujourhui (Contemporary Yiddish poets) (Paris, 1936); The Golden Peacock: An Anthology of Yiddish Poetry (London, 1939); Charles Dobzynski, Anthologie de la poésie Yiddish, le miroir d’un people (Anthology of Yiddish poetry, the mirror of a people) (Paris: Gallimard, 1971); Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg, A Treasury of Yiddish Poetry (New York, 1969); Philip M. Raskin, Anthology of Modern Jewish Poetry (New York, 1927); and many, many more.

            His own works would include: Di glokke, folks lieder und revolutsyonere gedikhte (The bell, folksongs and revolutionary poetry), “written by M[oyshe] Y[ankev] Rozenfeld with help from Y. M[erison], one of whose poems is his” (New York: H. R. Gordon, 1888), 68 pp.; Di blumenkette, a zammlung fon fershidene folks lieder und poezyen (The chain of flowers, a collection of various folksongs and poems) (New York: Folksadvokat, 1890), 48 pp.; Dos lieder bukh, part 1 (New York: Grover Broders, 1897), 88 pp.; Gezamelte lieder (Collected poems), with a biographical-critical introduction by Alexander Harkavy (New York: International Library, 1904), 320 pp., later edition (1906); Geklibene lieder (Selected poems) (Warsaw: Progres, 1905), 30 pp.; Haynrikh hayne, daytshlands grester liriker, zayn leben un zayne shriften (Heinrich Heine, Germany’s greatest lyrical poet, his life and his writings), freely adapted from various sources (New York: International Library, 1906), 85 pp.; Yude haleyvi, der grester hebreisher dikhter, zayn leben un zayne shriften (Yehuda Halevi, the greatest Hebrew poet, his life and his writings), freely adapted from various sources (New York: International Library, 1907), 71 pp.; Shriften (Writings) (New York: A. M. Evalenko, 1908), 3 vols.; Shriften (New York-Warsaw: International Library, 1908-1910), 6 vols.—1. Labor and freedom poems, national and folk poems, lyrical poetry, satirical poems; 2. Love and life, Yiddish songs, from poverty street, various motifs, humorous and satirical pieces; 3. Prose poems, Berl the blabbermouth, articles and features, various items; 4. Heaven and earth, labor melodies, national harp, God with love, miscellaneous items, tailor-related satire, humor and polemic, sparks, loose sheaves of grain; 5. Special writings, literature, beliefs, family, articles and feuilletons; and 6. Travel images, thoughts and occurrences, on sea and land, America—Gevehlte shriften (Selected writings) (New York: Forverts, 1912), 3 vols.; Fuftsig yohr  (Fifty years), a poem (New York, 1913), 3 pp.; Dos bukh fun liebe (The book of love), 2 parts (New York: M. Gurevitsh, 1914), 285 pp.—1. Original poems: love passion, and sin; 2. Song of Songs, lyrical poetry—Grine tsores, un andere shriften, humoristish-satirisher bukh (Fresh troubles and other writings, humorous-satirical volume) (New York: Literatur, 1919), 256 pp.; Lider (Poems) (Warsaw: Kultur-lige, 1924), 38 pp.; Oysgeklibene shriftn (Selected writings) (Buenos Aires: Yoysef Lifshits-fond, 1962), 237 pp.; Gezeyres rusland (Russian edicts) (New York, n.d.), 2 pp.  Rozenfeld also composed a historical operetta entitled Der letster koyen godl oder religyon un liebe (The last High Priest or religion and love) (1896); it was produced in New York but without success.  And, he wrote several one-act plays: “Elend un noyt” (Wretched and in need), in Arbayter tsaytung (February 6, 1891); “Bankrot fun tsedoke” (Bankrupt from charity), in Forverts (December 1, 1903); and Rent strayk (Rent strike), in Forverts (January 12, 1908).  The Folksbiene in New York dramatized and staged his Shap (Sweatshop) and Kantonistn (The recruits).  Rozenfeld also wrote theater reviews for Folks advokat (People’s advocate) of 1890 and mainly for Forverts.  He left in manuscript a four-act drama, satirical stories, and English-language poetry.  A handful of translations of his work into English have been done, such as: Leo Wiener, Songs from the Ghetto; Rose Pastor Stokes and Helena Frank, trans., Songs of Labor and Other Poems (Boston: R. G. Badger, 1914), 75 pp.; Aaron Kramer, trans., The Teardrop Millionaire and Other Poems (New York: Manhattan Emma Lazarus Clubs, 1955), 32 pp.; Itshe Goldberg and Max Rosenfeld, trans., Morris Rosenfeld: Selections from His Poetry and Prose (New York: Yiddisher Kultur Farband, 1964), 144 pp.; Mortimer Theodore Cohen, trans., Poems of Morris Rosenfeld (New York: Retriever Books, 1979), 128 pp.  Into German: Friedrich Thieberger, trans., Gedichter von Morris Rosenfeld (People of Morris Rosenfeld) (Prague: R. Brandeis, 1909), 64 pp.; Berthold Feiwel, trans., Lieder des Ghetto (Poems of the ghetto) (Berlin: Seeman, 1907), 144 pp.

            “Rozenfeld occupies,” noted Zalmen Reyzen, “one of the first places in the history of Yiddish poetry, and beside him sit Shimen Frug along with Yehoash and Avrom Reyzen.”  “While Frug softened and overly protected his language,” wrote M. Olgin, “…Rozenfeld delivered iron in his verses; while Frug was more concerned about the silvery quality of the ring of his verse, Rozenfeld moved ahead with wide, rough wheels or whistled with whips.”  Shmuel Niger added: “He made an international name for himself with his social poetry, and he also often wrote on ethnic Jewish motifs.  He was, though, in the first instance a lyrical poet of his own personal experience, and the most authentic of his poems were those in which he disclosed the living, immediate feelings of the ‘I’-poet….  Rozenfeld is the noisiest, most enthusiastic of all Yiddish lyrical poets, for there is something in his poems of the dramatic….  He enriched Yiddish poetry with the widest range of verse forms, with original and strenuous rhyming, and with a broad assortment of rhythms.”  “The form of Rozenfeld’s poems,” wrote B. Rivkin, “was direct speech, declamation—delivered to the audience from the stage on a literary evening….  This stage derivation left its imprint on Rozenfeld’s poetry….  This oughtn’t be his style.  It should come with voice or with tears.  Outshouting, outcrying is no defect.  On the contrary, it has to be violent or melodramatic….  It must have a melody, but it matters not that the words are so fastidiously chosen.” “Rozenfeld outgrew,” noted Avrom-Ber Tabatshnik, “in so many ways other Yiddish poets of his time, because no one beside him evinced such a tempestuous rupture with the popular-primitive and generationally static and such an organic expression of this dynamic and new rebelliousness in Jewish life of that epoch.  His ‘worth and rank’ lay in the first tier, thanks to his ‘tempestuous songs.’…  The great change in Jewish life, the social break and struggles in the new world demanded of him these ‘tempestuous songs.”…  Furthermore, he was involved in the new world, and he extended his personality by absorbing in himself the tendencies and inclinations of the community at large; and he took as his personal destiny to see a reflection of his people and class—and all the more this strengthen the dynamic cast of his verse, the ring and sound of his poetry, as he approached all the more an independent style, his own poetic.”  “He was able to pay close attention,” wrote Yankev Glatshteyn, “to the music of a mood and find just the most appropriate words.  He possessed a world with individual rhythms, which were deployed by him in the right places….  Rozenfeld the lyrical poet was not slovenly with his poetry, but intellectual, for he approached his personal poem with his own language and his own enduring feeling….  His most beautiful poems were the quiet lyrical ones….  With his ethnic, social, and satirical poems, Rozenfeld earned a thick chapter in the history of Jewish America, but in the history of American Yiddish poetry, which crowned him as its father, he purchased an entire special empire with his lyrical poems—for his new expressiveness, for his profound musicality and warmth of his own experiential sensibility with sad majesty….  The times selected Rozenfeld’s poetic wealth, no great legacy, but a legacy of a great poet.”

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Zalmen Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 4 (New York, 1963); Bal-Dimyon (Nokhum Shtif), in Dos naye leben (New York) (1910); M. Olgin, In der velt fun gezangen (In the world of songs) (New York, 1919), pp. 129-49; H. Leivick, in Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) 10, 11 (1924); Nakhmen Mayzil, Noente un vayte (Near and far), vol. 2 (Warsaw: Kultur-lige, 1926), pp. 32-40, 147; Ab. Cahan, Bleter fun mayn leben (Pages from my life), vols. 2-5 (Vilna: B. Kletskin, 1926-1928), vol. 2, pp. 376-77, vol. 3, pp. 228-30, vol. 4, 458-61, vol. 5 (New York: Forverts, 1931), pp. 178-80; Shmuel Tsvi Zetser, Figurn (Figures) (New York, 1928), pp. 187-211; Idishe literatur (Yiddish literature) (Kiev, 1928), numerous articles; Avrom Vevyorke, in Shtern (Minsk) (April-August 1930); Benyomen-Yankev Byalostotski, Lider un eseyen (Poems and essays), vol. 2 (New York, 1932), pp. 85-96ff; Byalostotski, Moris rozenfeld, 1862-1923 (Morris Rosenfeld, 1862-1923) (New York, 1941), 48 pp.; E. Almi, Mentshn un ideyen (Men and ideas), essays (Warsaw, 1933), pp. 160-73; Almi, Momentn fun a lebn (Moments in a life), memoirs from childhood and youth (Buenos Aires, 1948), pp. 214-23; Almi, in Fraye arbeter shtime (New York) (June 15, 1962); Kalmen Marmor, Moris rozenfelds satirishe lider kegn der geler prese in amerike (Morris Rozenfeld’s satirical poetry against the yellow press in America) (Kiev, 1935); Marmor, Der onhoyb fun der yidisher literatur in amerike, 1870-1890 (The start of Yiddish literature in America, 1870-1890) (New York: Writers’ Section of IKUF, 1944), pp. 69-80ff; Borekh Vladek, B. vladek in lebn un shafn (The life and work of B. Vladek) (New York, 1936), pp. 338-47; Yankev Shatski, in Zamlbikher (Collections), ed. Yoysef Opatoshu and H. Leivick, vol. 1 (New York, 1936), pp. 339-66; Nokhum-Borekh Minkov, Yidishe klasiker-poetn, eseyen (Classical Yiddish poets, essays) (New York, 1937), pp. 65-98; Mortkhe Yofe, Ringen in der keyt, eseyen (Links in the chain, essays) (New York: Mordekhai Yofe Book Committee, 1939), pp. 5-20; Shmuel Niger, in Tsukunft (New York) (September 1940); Elye (Elias) Shulman, Geshikhte fun der yidisher literatur in amerike, 1870-1900 (History of Yiddish literature in America, 1870-1900) (New York, 1943), pp. 206-19; Shloyme Saymon, Kinder-yorn fun idishe shrayber (Childhood years of Jewish writers), vol. 2 (New York, 1945), pp. 98-111; B. Rivkin, Yidishe dikhter in amerike (Yiddish poets in America), vol. 1 (New York, 1947), pp. 35-48; Rivkin, Grunt-tendentsn fun der yidisher literatur in ameriḳe (Basic tendencies in Yiddish literature in America) (New York, 1948), pp. 61-76; Yidishe kultur (New York) 7 (1948) (several articles), 6 (1964), 6 (1973) (letters); M. Olgin, Kultur un folk, ophandlungen un eseyen vegn kultur and shrayber (Culture and people, treatises and essays about culture and writers) (New York, 1949), pp. 191-201; Chaim Zhitlovsky, Vizye un gedank (Vision and thought) (New York, 1951), pp. 168-72; Hillel Rogof, Der gayst fun “forverts” (The spirit of the Forverts) (New York, 1954), pp. 61-67, 70-72; Leon Kusman, Amanim uvonim (Artists and builders) (Tel Aviv, 1955), pp. 57-66; Roze Shomer-Batshelis, Vi ikh hob zey gekent, portretn fun baṿuste idishe perzenlekhkeytn (As I knew them, portraits of well-known Yiddish personalities) (Los Angeles, 1955), pp. 63-69; Yekhezkl Lifshits, Moris rozenfelds briv (Morris Rosenfeld’s letters) (Buenos Aires: YIVO, 1955); Lifshits, in Fraye arbeter shtime (July 15, 1962); A. Mukdoni, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (November 18, 1956); Kadia Molodowsky, in Tsukunft 5 (1958); H. Royzenblat, in Tsukunft 1 (1959); Molodowsky, in Svive (New York) (February 1962); Tsukunft 4 (1962); Meylekh Ravitsh, in Di goldene keyt (Tel Aviv) 45 (1962); Tsum hundertstn geboyrntog fun moris rozenfeld (Toward the 100^th birthday of Morris Rozenfeld), ed. N. Mayzil (New York, 1962); Y. Yeshurin, Moris rozenfeld biblyografye Morris Rozenfeld bibliography) (Buenos Aires, 1962), 24 pp.; Zoza Zhaykovski, Katalog fun der [yivo-] oysshtelung, moris rozenfeld un zayn tsayt (Catalogue of YIVO exhibition, Morris Rozenfeld and his times) (New York, 1962); Arn Leyeles, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (June 10, 1962); Yankev Botoshanski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (August 5, 1962); Yankev Glatshetyn, Mit mayne fartog-bikher (With my daybreak books) (Tel Aviv, 1963), pp. 329-66; Glatshteyn, Af greyte temes (On ready themes) (New York: CYCO, 1967); B. Grin, Yidishe shrayber in amerike (Yiddish writers in America) (New York, 1963), pp. 33-52; Avrom-Ber Tabatshnik, Dikhter un dikhtung (Poets and poetry) (New York, 1965), pp. 7-32; Shmuel Ayzenshadt, Pyonerishe geshtaltn (Pioneer images) (Tel Aviv: Oyfkum, 1970); Shmuel Margoshes, In gang fun doyres (In the course of generations) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1970), pp. 209-14; Yitskhok Yanasovitsh, Penemer un nemen (Faces and names) (Buenos Aires-Tel Aviv, 1971), pp. 339-43; Arn Alperin, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (October 31, 1971); Froym Oyerbakh, Af der vogshol, esey (In the balance, essay) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1975), pp. 61-64; Leon Goldenthal, Toil and Troumph: A Novel Based on the Life of Morris Rosenfeld (New York: Pageant, 1960); Ezekiel Lifshutz, in American Jewish Archives (1970), pp. 121-37.

Berl Cohen