IDA GLAZER (EDITH GLASSER)

IDA GLAZER (EDITH GLASSER) (September 25, 1891-August 30, 1947)

            She was born in Lyubar, Volhynia, into a well-to-do family.  She graduated from the local Russian public school and later from the high school in Zhitomir.  While still quite young, she was implicated in the revolutionary movement (1905-1906).  At the time she published several Russian poems in a Zhitomir newspaper.  To hide from police surveillance, she left for the United States, where her father had earlier emigrated.  Quickly, though, she rend her ties to the New World, and after staying a short while in Paris, she took off for Odessa and from there, disappointed, in 1909 she returned to New York.  She was among the first pioneers of the Jewish colony in Far West, built on collective foundations.  After the collapse of the colony, she returned to New York again.  Over the years 1915-1917, she studied medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.  In 1922 she graduated from the course in journalism at New York University.  In 1925 she graduated from the “New York School of Chiropractors.”  She initially published in English-language newspapers.  Her first published piece in Yiddish was a story, “Di vayse nekht” (The white nights), which appeared in Fraye arbeter shtime in 1918.  She later published poetry, stories, and translations in Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves) in Warsaw, Fraye arbeter shtime, Di feder (The pen), Forverts (Forward), Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter), Tsukunft (Future), Di naye velt (The new world), In zikh (Introspective), Shriftn (Writings), Ineynem (Altogether), Baym fayer (At the fire), Poezye (Poetry), Di prese (The press) in Buenos Aires), Grininke beymelekh (Little green trees), and Khaver (Comrade) in Vilna, among others.  In the daily Tsayt (Times), she published translated children’s poems by Rabindranath Tagore and the modern British poets.  She also translated a volume of stories by O. Henry.  She was the wife of the painter Note Kozlovski.  Among her books: In halb-shotn (In a half shadow), poems (New York, 1922), 68 pp.; Yong-lebn (Young life), children’s poetry (New York, 1929), 30 pp.; In feld (In the field), children’s poetry (New York, 1929), 30 pp.; A rayze tsu der levone (A trip to the moon), children’s stories (New York, 1940), 118 pp.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1 (under “Glazer-andrus”); Moyshe Shtarkman, Hemshekh-antologye (Hemshekh anthology) (New York, 1945) (including a bibliography); Shmuel Niger, in Tsukunft (New York) (September 1922); Ezra Korman, Yidishe dikhterins, antologye (Jewish poetesses, anthology) (Chicago, 1928); B. Ts. Goldberg, in Tog (New York) (May 6, 1932); obituary notice, Keneder odler (Montreal) (September 8, 1947); Sh. Slutski, Avrom reyzen biblyografye (Avrom Reyzen’s bibliography) (New York, 1956), no. 5143.