BENYOMEN SHLEVIN (February 1910, 1913-April 14, 1981)
The
author of novels and stories, he was born in Brisk (Brest). His original surname was Sheynman. His father was a saddle-maker. He studied in religious elementary school,
with private tutors, and later in a Jewish public school. In 1931 he left for Warsaw and in 1934 for
Paris, and there he found employment as a typesetter. He spent five years during WWII in a German
captivity as a French soldier. Early on
he was drawn to the leftist movement.
After the murder of the Yiddish writers in the Soviet Union, he underwent
a spiritual reorientation.
In 1930 he
began publishing in the Brisk weekly newspapers, Polyeser shtime (Voice of Polesia) and Brisker vokhnblat (Brisk weekly newspaper). He wrote stories, novels, poems, reviews, and
articles for: Folkstsaytung (People’s
newspaper) edited by Meylekh Ravitsh, Literarishe
tribune (Literary tribune), Fraynd
(Friend), Vokhnshrift far literatur un
kunst (Weekly writing for literature and art), Parizer tsaytshrift (Parisian periodical), Naye prese (New press), Unzer
kiem (Our existence), Shtern
(Star) in Minsk and Kharkov, Farmest
(Challenge), Hamer (Hammer), Yidishe kultur (Jewish culture), Morgn frayhayt (Morning freedom), Di prese (The press) in Buenos Aires, and
Di goldene keyt (The golden chain)
and Di yidishe tsaytung (The Jewish
newspaper) in Tel Aviv, among others. He
edited Parizer heftn (Parisian
notebooks) and Undzer eynikeyt (Our
unity); and his work appeared in the collection Lebn un kamf (Life and struggle) (Minsk, 1936).
In book
form, stories: Tsvishn vent, noveln (Between
walls, stories) (Warsaw: Nay-bukh, 1933), 102 pp.; Groye profiln, noveln (Gray profiles, stories) (Paris, 1937), 126
pp.; Rus un noyme, dertseylung fun yidishn lebn in nidershlezye
(Ruth and Naomi, stories of Jewish life in Lower Silesia) (Wrocław:
Nidershlezye, 1939), 23 pp.; Geklibene
dertseylungen, 1933-1963 (Selected stories, 1933-1963) (Paris:
Bukh-komitet, 1964), 279 pp.; Unter di
shtern fun negev un andere dertseylungen (Under the stars of the Negev and
other stories) (Paris, 1974), 141 pp.; novels: Der marsh af brisk, roman (The march on Brisk, novel) (Paris:
1938), 285 pp.; Di yidn fun belvil, roman
(The Jews of Belleville, a novel) (Paris: Oyfsnay, 1948), 358 pp., French translation
by Marcel
Arnaud
as Les Juifs de Belleville, roman (Paris, 1956), 254
pp.; Geven es iz nekhtn, roman (It
was yesterday, a novel) (Paris: Oyfsnay, 1951), 370 pp.; Dos hoyz in der topoln-gas, roman (The house on rue des
Peupliers, a novel), a trilogy—(1) Di
brider khaykin (The brothers Khaykin) (Paris: Oyfsnay, 1955), 269 pp.; (2) Afn parizer bruk (On Parisian
cobblestone) (Warsaw: Yidish bukh, 1955), 194 pp.; (3) Dos tsugezogte land (The promised land) (Paris: Oyfsnay, 1956), 200
pp.—Di goldene iluzye, roman (The
golden illusion, a novel) (Paris, 1958), 224 pp.; Khaveyrim fun muranover rayon, roman (Friends from Muranov
district, a novel) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1961), 407 pp.; Lipe kamashnmakher, roman (Lipe, the
boot-maker, a novel) (Paris: Bukh komitet, 1969), 335 p.; Shotns fun monparnas, roman (Shadows of Montparnasse, a novel) (Tel
Aviv: Hamenorah, 1971), 285 pp.; Vuhim
geystu, danyel? (Where are you going, Daniel?) (Paris: Bukh komitet, 1977),
288 pp.; Shvere gemiter, dertseylungen,
dermonungen, batreakhtungen (Heavy hearts, stories, remembrances,
considerations) (Paris, 1981), 189 pp. His
translations include: Honoré de Balzac, Di
kuzine beti (Cousin Bette [original: La
Cousine Bette]); L. Aragon, Dos
roymishe rekht ekzistirt nisht mer, dertseylung (Roman law no longer
exists, a story) (Paris, 1949), 60 pp.
He died in Paris.
“B.
Shlevin is a writer of a difficult caliber,” noted Froym Kaganovski. “A
novelist, he has a dimension of tomorrow—and tomorrow people will be reading
him all the more.”
Shlevin’s
novel Der marsh af brisk, wrote
Avrom-Moyshe Fuks, “is a sweeping work, thorough and straightforward, in the
best traditions of our classical authors.”
“Di yidn fun belvil is an important
contribution,” commented Meylekh Ravitsh, “to our modern Yiddish literature.”
“His
sensitive pen for social and ethnic issues,” wrote Shaye Shpigl, “created with
its historical scope a specific genre in literature…. In my view, he belongs among the creators of
our literature.”
Sources: Ber Mark, in Literarishe tribune (Warsaw) (1933); Zalmen Shneur, in Naye prese (Paris)
(September 1938); Avrom-Moyshe Fuks, in Kiem (Paris) (1949); Dovid
Sfard, Shtudyes un skitsn
(Studies and sketches) (Warsaw: Yidish bukh, 1955), pp. 121-29; Froym
Kaganovski, in Naye prese (1956); A.
Mukdoni, in Tsukunft (New York) 3 (1958);
Shmuel Izban, in Tsukunft 11 (1965);
Leyzer Domankevitsh, Verter un vertn
(Words and worth) (Tel Aviv: Peretz Publ., 1965), pp. 246-50; Elye (Elias)
Shulman, in Forverts (New York)
(August 8, 1971); Rivke Kope, Intim mitn
bukh, mekhabrim, bikher, meynungen (Intimate with a book, authors, books,
opinions), essays (Paris, 1973); Yitskhok Goldkorn, Heymishe un fremde literarishe
etyudn (Familiar and foreign literary studies) (Buenos Aires: Svive, 1973); Shaye Shpigl, in Yisroel shtime (Tel Aviv) (November 19, 1975).
Sh. Apter
[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers
(Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 530.]
