FAYVL MELTSER (SH., PAVEL, PHILIP)

FAYVL MELTSER (SH., PAVEL, PHILIP) (b. 1893)

            He was born in Radauts (Rădăuţi), Bukovina, the son of an itinerant school teacher.  He received a traditional Jewish education, later becoming a typesetter.  In 1913 he made his way to the United States, where he worked in his trade, while at the same time publishing poetry in: Glaykheyt (Equality), Naye velt (New world), Fraye arbeter-shtime (Free voice of labor), Vegen (Pathways), and Dos idishe vort (The Jewish word), among other serials.  He also published translations of Serbian poetry.  From 1923 he published primarily children’s poetry and children’s stories in Frayhayt (Freedom) and other periodicals of the leftist movement.  In book form: Kinder-lider (shtot un dorf) (Children’s poetry, city and village), illustrated by Benjamin Kopman (New York: Kind un keyt, 1928), 207 pp.  He was last living in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 2; A. Goldin, in Der veker (New York) (September 15, 1928); Al. Pomerants, in Proletpen (Kiev, 1935), p. 218; Sh. Slutski, Avrom reyzen biblyografye (Avrom Reyzen’s bibliography) (New York, 1956), no. 4663.

Alexander Pomerants