Tuesday 14 May 2019

YANKEV-KHAYIM ROZENBOYM


YANKEV-KHAYIM ROZENBOYM (February 5, 1890-1942)
            A journalist and playwright, he was born in Rozhishtsh (Pol., Rożyszcze; Ukr., Rozhyshche), Volhynia.  He attended religious elementary school.  Around 1908 he moved to Vilna.  From 1920 he lived in Kovno, Berlin, and Riga where he worked for HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society).  He spent WWII in Kazakhstan.  From time to time, he published poetry, one-act plays, and articles, mainly on theater, in publications coming out of Vilna, Kovno, and mainly Riga: the daily newspaper Unzer fraynd (Our friend) in Vilna (August 7, 1914-March 13, 1915); Lipman Levin’s Vokhenblat (Weekly newspaper) in Vilna; Yidishe tsaytung (Jewish newspaper) (1919); Moyshe Shalit’s Leben (Life); Der veg (The way); Dos folk (The people) in Riga (1920-1926); the daily Nayes (News) in Kovno (August 1921-March 1922); and Kalmen Zingman’s Vispe (Islet); among others.  He published and edited: Literarishe heftn (Literary notebooks) in Vilna (2 issues, 1916); the weekly newspaper Der emigrant (The emigrant) in Kovno and Riga (60 issues, 1922-1923); Letste nayes (Latest news) in Riga (1925); Unzer teater (Our theater) in Riga (2 issues, 1926); Di vokh, ilustrirter zhurnal far literatur, kunst un teater (The week, illustrated journal for literature, art, and theater) in Riga (20 issues, 1927-1928).  Among his published plays: Zolst khasene hobn! (You should get married!) (Vilna: N. Mazia, 1913), 16 pp.; Tsurik aheym, a drame in dray akten (Back home, a drama in three acts) (Vilna, 1917), 44 pp.; Fatum, a drame in eyn akt (Fatum, a drama in one act) (Riga: Yavne, 1913), 16 pp.  He was ordinarily called Yashe Rozenboym.  He died in Alma-Ata, USSR [Kazakhstan].

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Zalmen Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 5 (Mexico City, 1966); Lite (Lithuania), vol. 1 (New York, 1950), see index; Yitskhok Yanasovitsh, Mit yidishe shrayber in rusland (With Yiddish writers in Russia) (Buenos Aires, 1959), pp. 170-71.
Berl Cohen


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