MOYSHE-SHMUEL SHKLARSKI

MOYSHE-SHMUEL SHKLARSKI (March 8 [28?], 1888-July 13, 1961)

            He was a publisher, born in Ratnitse (Rotnica, Ratnyčia), Lithuania.  In 1907 he emigrated to the United States.  He was one of the most energetic distributors of the Yiddish book in America.  He alone published new editions of: Yisroel Tsinberg, Di geshikhte fun der literatur bay yidn (The history of Jewish literature); Shiye-Khone Rabnitski and Ḥaim-Naḥman Bialik, Di yudishe agodes, dertseylungen, zagn, legendn, mesholim, aforizmen un shprikhverter, geklibn fun talmud un medroshim nokhn hebreyishn sefer haagode (The Jewish tales, stories, sagas, legends, fables, aphorisms, and sayings, selected from the Talmud and midrash following the Hebrew Sefer haagoda); and works by Sholem Asch and others.  In his last years he ran a column entitled “Kultur-khronik” (Culture chronicle) in Kultur un dertsiung (Culture and education).  From 1912, he contributed work to: Kundes (Prankster), Fraye arbeter-shtime (Free voice of labor), Oyfkum (Rise), Undzer bukh (Our book), Veker (Alarm), Vegvayzer (Guide), and Yivo-bleter (Pages from YIVO) 18.1.  In book form: Dos idishe bukh in amerike (The Yiddish book in America) (New York, 1924), 48 pp.; Vegn idishe bikher (On Yiddish books) (New York, 1928), 46 pp.  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Yitskhok Shmulevitsh, in Forverts (New York) (January 13, 1956); Meylekh Ravitsh, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (July 24, 1961); Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York).

Yekhezkl Lifshits