PINKHES (YITSKHOK) VALD (PIÑE WALD)

PINKHES (YITSKHOK) VALD (PIÑE WALD) (July 15, 1886-August 25, 1966)

            He was born in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, into a poor working family.  He studied in religious primary school.  At age ten he went to work.  In 1898 he worked as an apprentice to a metal worker in Bełchatów.  In 1899 he came to Lodz, and one year later he joined the underground revolutionary movement of the Bund.  In 1905 he was arrested and exiled from Lodz to Tomaszów, where he continued his activities with the Bund.  In March 1906 he moved to Argentina where he was one of the initiators of the Yiddishist cultural movement and founder (1907) of the Jewish social-democratic labor organization “Avangard.”  He was also a co-creator of the secular Jewish school curriculum in Argentina and from 1920 until 1931 its secretary.  He was also cofounder and secretary, and for a time chairman, of the Jewish literary and journalist union in Argentina.  He began his literary activities in 1907—with a call to create a Jewish socialist movement if Argentina.  He published articles, essays, historical, bibliographical, and literary works, travel descriptions, correspondence pieces, stories, and translations from Spanish for: Tsayt-gayst (Spirit of the times) in New York (1907); Der avangard (The avant-garde), Unzer vort (Our word), Der idisher kolonist (The Jewish colonist), Di idishe tsaytung (The Jewish newspaper) in 1916-1917, Di prese (The press), co-editor and contributor from 1918, Sotsyalistishe bleter (Socialist leaves), Argentiner lebn (Argentinian life), Tsayt-fragn (Issues of the times), Unzer gedank (Our idea), Oyfgang (Arise), Teater (Theater), Far kleyn un groys (For little and big), Dorem-amerike (South America), Argentiner yivo-shriftn (YIVO writings in Argentina), Yoyvl-bukh argentine (Jubilee volume for Argentina), Yorbukh fun yidishn yishev in argentine (Annual for the Jewish settlement in Argentina), and Yorbukh fun der yidisher kehile in buenos-ayres (Annual for the Jewish community in Buenos Aires), among others—all in Argentina.  Over the years 1931-1939, he was the correspondent from Argentina for Folks-tsaytung (People’s newspaper) in Warsaw and Veker (Alarm) in Paris.  He also published in: Veker, Forverts (Forward), and Unzer tsayt (Our time) in New York; Foroys (Onward) in Mexico City; and elsewhere.  He published as books: Bletlekh (Leaves) (Buenos Aires, 1929), 195 pp.; Koshmar (Nightmare) (Buenos Aires, 1929), 96 pp.; In gang fun tsayt, geshikhte fun sotsyalizm in argentine (In step with the times, a history of socialism in Argentina), a social history of Argentina and of the Jewish cultural and labor movements (Buenos Aires, 1951) 450 pp.; Af historishe vegn (Along historical paths) (Buenos Aires, 1959), 398 pp.; Geshtaltn fun yidishn velt-folk (Images of Jewish people of the world) (Buenos Aires: Yidbukh, 1964), 428 pp.; Argentine, fun mayne rayzes (Argentina, from my travels) (Buenos Aires: Yidbukh, 1966), 380 pp.  He edited Avangard from 1908 to 1920; co-edited Sotsyalistishe bleter, Argentiner bleter (Argentinian leaves), and other serials in Buenos Aires.  He also wrote under such pen names as: Selva, Vandertroym, and Der Tomashover.  He died in Buenos Aires.

Sources: Dr. L. Zhitnitski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (March 22, 1929); M. Alperson and Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese (July 24, 1929); A. Almi, in Forverts (New York) (October 13, 1929); K. Marmor, in Morgn-frayhayt (New York) (November 18, 1929); G. Bekerman, in Di prese (July 7, 1931); Argentiner lebn (Buenos Aires) 15 (September 11, 1937) (commemorating Vald’s fiftieth boirthday); Antologye fun der yidisher literatur in argentine (Anthology of Jewish literature in Argentina) (Buenos Aires, 1944), pp. 299-304, 336; Sh. Rozhanski, Dos yidishe gedrukte vort un teater in argentine (The published Yiddish word and theater in Argentina) (Buenos Aires, 1941), see index; P. Kats, Geklibene shriftn (Collected writings), vol. 5 (1946), see index; M. Koyfman, in Unzer gedank (Buenos Aires) (February 1956).

Khayim Leyb Fuks

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 227.]