ESTER MILER

ESTER MILER (b. 1896)

            The sister of Shmuel-Nisn Godiner, she was born in Telekhan (Telekhany), Minsk region, Byelorussia.  She received a traditional Jewish education with her father (an itinerant school teacher).  Over the years 1910-1913, she lived in Warsaw, studied in a Russian school, and later immigrated to the United States.  She debuted in print with a story in Haynt (Today) in Warsaw in late 1912, and later for a long period of time she did not write; from 1950 she once again became active in writing.  She contributed from time to time to Yidishe kultur (Jewish culture) in New York.  In book form: Fun telekhan keyn amerike (From Telekhany to America), autobiographical sketches and impressions, four parts (New York, 1956), 410 pp., with a foreword by Z. Vaynper; Af amerikaner vegn (Along American roads) (Tel Aviv: Oyfkum, 1968), 415 pp.  He also wrote the essay “Mayn bruder shmuel” (My brother Shmuel) which was included as a preface to Sh. Godiner’s volume Zaveler trakt (Zavel highway) (New York, 1950), pp. 7-13.  She was last living in Los Angeles, California.

Sources: Y. Sh. Beylin, in Morgn-frayhayt (New York) (June 12, 1956); Y. Frid, in Zamlungen (New York) 10 (pp. 94-96); biography of Shmuel Godiner, in this anthology (http://yleksikon.blogspot.ca/2015/04/shmuel-nisn-samuel-nissan-godiner.html).

Khayim Leyb Fuks

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 373.]