AYZIK
PLATNER (November 17, 1895-July 26, 1961)
He was born in Sokolov Podlyask (Sokołów
Podlaski), Poland, into a family of tailors. He studied in religious elementary schools,
synagogue study hall, Hassidic synagogues, and yeshivas. He was apprenticed himself to a tailor at age
eleven. He worked later in a variety of
trades and was also an actor. During WWI
he was active in the Labor Zionist movement and lived illegally in Poland and
Lithuania. He took part in party
conferences and also participated in the fifth world conference of Labor
Zionism in Vienna (1919). He began
writing at a very young age and debuted in print in 1919 in Warsaw’s Literarishe bleter (Literary
leaves). In 1920 he settled in Kovno as
a tailor and was a contributor there to the Labor Zionist Arbeter tsaytung (Workers’ newspaper), in which he published
features, party publicity, and miniatures under the pen names: Zhuk, Yerukhem,
and Kleynman. From 1921 he was publishing
poetry in the Kovno monthly Vispe (Islet),
Vilner tog (Vilna day), and Bialystok’s
Dos naye lebn (The new life). From 1927 until 1932, he lived in the United
States, working in sweatshops, studying in the teachers’ seminary of the
Workmen’s Circle, and working as a teacher.
He was an active member of the writers’ group “Union Square” and later “Proletpen”
(Proletarian pen). He published poems in
Hamer (Hammer), Feder (Pen), and the anthology Shriftn
(Writings) 8. In 1932 he traveled to the
Soviet Union, lived in Minsk, and worked for the editorial board of the Minsk
daily newspaper Oktyabr (October). He contributed as well to: Der shtern (The star), Ruf (Call), and In shlakhtn (In battle), as well as in the collections In shotn fun tlies, almanakh fun der
yidisher proletarisher literatur in di kapitalistishe lender (In the shadow
of the gallows, an almanac of Yiddish proletarian literature in the capitalist
countries) (Kharkov-Kiev, 1932) and Di
bafrayte brider (The liberated brothers), among others; and his work was
represented in N. Mayzil’s Amerike in
yidishn vort (America in the Yiddish word) (New York, 1955) and Sovetish heymland (Soviet homeland). His reportage pieces about travels to the
Urals were published in the Moscow journal Nashi
dostizheniia (Our achievements) and in the American Communist press. During the years of WWII, he lived in the
city of Saransk, before returning to Minsk and taking up writing again. In book form: Vos der tog dertseylt (What the day recounts), poetry (Minsk, 1930),
93 pp.; Fun tsvey lender (Of two
countries) (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publ., 1933), 24 pp.; Fun amerike (From America), poetry
(Minsk, 1934), 128 pp.; A poeme vegn
shnayder (A poem about a tailor) (Minsk, 1935), 105 pp.; Tsvishn kinder, dertseylungen funem lebn fun
di arbeter kinder in amerike (Among children, stories from the lives of
working children in America) (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publ., 1938), 60 pp.; Zun afn shvel (Sun on the threshold) (Minsk:
Byelorussian State Publ., 1940), 100 pp.; Di
lid fun der muter (The song of the mother) (1940), 14 pp.; Mit libe un gloybn (With love and
beliefs) (Moscow, 1947), 76 pp.; Same
tayerste (Very dearest), stories (Minsk, 1948). During the mass arrests of Yiddish writers in
1948, he was arrested and sent to the northern labor camp in Tayshet, Irkutsk
district, Siberia, from June 9, 1948 to March 1, 1956. After being freed he lived once again in
Minsk and continued writing a great deal.
He published numerous translations in Russian and especially
Byelorussian journals and anthologies.
In the last years of his life, he was working on a book on the murdered Soviet
Yiddish writers, to be entitled Vegn di
vos feln undz (About those whom we are missing). Several chapters of it appeared in Sovetish heymland in Moscow and in Folksshtime (Voice of the people) and Shriftn (Writings) in Warsaw. His translations into Russian and
Byelorussian include: Sol’ zhytstsia
(Salt of life), children’s poems (Minsk, 1957); Sol’ zhizni, stikhi (Salt of life, poetry) (Moscow: Sovetski
pisatel, 1961), 103 pp.; several book of children’s poetry; and a volume of
stories in Byelorussian. Posthumously: Di zalts fun lebn, oysgeveylte verk (The
salt of life, selected work) (Moscow: Sovetski pisatel, 1976), 134 pp. He died at the Lithuanian spa of Palanga and
was buried in Minsk. In his bequest was
a book of poetry prepared for publication.
Sources:
Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 2;
Moyshe Olgin, in Hamer (New York)
(December 1930); Kh. Dunets, in Shtern
(Minsk) (October-November 1930); A. Pomerants, in Proletpen (Kiev) (1935); Pomerants, Di sovetishe haruge malkhes (The [Jewish writers] murdered by the
Soviet government) (Buenos Aires, 1962), pp. 398-413; H. Smolyar, in Eynikeyt (Moscow) (May 22, 1945);
Nakhmen Mayzel, Dos yidishe shafn un der yidisher shrayber in sovetnfarband
(Jewish creation and the Jewish writer in the Soviet Union) (New York, 1959),
see index; Chone Shmeruk, comp., Pirsumim
yehudiim babrit-hamoatsot, 1917-1961 (Jewish publications in the Soviet
Union, 1917-1961) (Jerusalem, 1961), see index.
Benyomen Elis
[Additional
information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon
fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New
York, 1986), col. 431; and Chaim Beider, Leksikon
fun yidishe shrayber in ratn-farband (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish
writers in the Soviet Union), ed. Boris Sandler and Gennady Estraikh (New York:
Congress for Jewish Culture, Inc., 2011), pp. 282-83.]
AYZIK PLATNER translated from English into Yiddish Helen Kay's (Goldfrank, Helen Colodny) Shlakht inem shtal-hoyf : mayses un bilder far arbeter-kinder (orig.: Battle in the barnyard : stories and pictures for workers' children).- Minsk : Melukhe-farlag fun Vaysrusland. Natssekter, 1934.- 48 pp., ill
ReplyDeleteשלאכט אינעמ שטאל-הױפ :
מײסעס פונ העלענ קײ ; פונ ענגליש - פלאטנער ; בילדער פונ פרעװעל
1.שלאכט אינעמ שטאל-הױפ
2.אריסטאקראטישע מוראשקעס
3.דער אינדזל אפ יענער זײט אזערע
4.ברױט
5.דער סאד פונעמ שטרײק
6.מיר, קינדער פונ די הינטער-הױפנ
7.א נאכט-אװאנטיורע
Shlakht inem shtal-hoyf :
mayses un bilder far arbeter-kinder
Helen Key ; fun english - Platner ; bilder - Prevel
1. Shlakht inem shtal-hoyf
2. Aristokratishe murashkes
3. Der indzl af yener zayt ozere
4. Broyt
5. Der sod funem shtrayk
6. Mir, kinder fun di hinter-hoyfn
7. A nakht-avantyure
Battle in the barnyard; High hat ants; The island across the lake; Bread; Strike secret; Us alley kids; A night's adventure
A. Platner also wrote a preface.
Illustrations were done by J. Preval
A. Platner translated into Yiddish Agnes Smedley's Di khinezishe royte armey marshirt (orig.: China’s Red army marches).- Moskve : Farlag Emes, 1935.- 157, [3] pp.
ReplyDeleteדי כינעזישע רױטע ארמײ מארשירט
אגנעס סמעדלי; ײדיש - א. פלאטנער
A. Platner translated into Yiddish Agnes Smedley's Balade vegn di zibn brikn (The ballad about seven bridges).- Kharkov : Ukrmelukhenatsmindfarlag, 1936.- 37, [2] pp.
ReplyDeleteבאלאדע װעגנ די זיבנ בריקנ
אגנעס סמעדלי; ײדיש - א. פלאטנער
AYZIK PLATNER translated from English into Yiddish M. Gold's Yidn on gelt (orig.: Jews Without Money).- Minsk : Melukhe-farlag fun Vaysrusland. Natssekter,1936.- 240, [3] pp.
ReplyDeleteײדן אן געלד
מײקל גאלד ; פון ענגליש - א. פלאטנער
A. Platner translated from German into Yiddish br. Grim's Mayselekh (Tales).- Minsk : Melukhe-farlag fun Vaysrusland, 1939.- 112, [4] pp.
ReplyDeleteמײסעלעכ
ברידער גרימ; פון דײטש - א. פלאטנער