YOYSEF PERLSHTEYN (JOSEPH PEARLSTINE)

YOYSEF PERLSHTEYN (JOSEPH PEARLSTINE) (b. August 16, 1913)

            He was born in Dombrovits (Dubrovitsa), Volhynia.  He graduated from the Vilna teachers’ seminary of Dr. Sh. Y. Tsharno.  From 1933 he studied law for several years at Vilna University, and he later studied further in Israel.  At age sixteen he published a story in the Rovno weekly Voliner shtime (Voice of Volhynia).  He went on also to write poetry.  In 1941 he escaped from Nazi occupation to Russia.  In 1948 he came to Israel.  In addition to Voliner shtime, he wrote for: Voliner nayes (News of Volhynia) in Rovno; Dos vort (The word) in Munich; Unzer vort (Our word) in Paris; Undzer tsil (Our goal) and Oyfgang (Arise) in Austria; Dos vort and Undzer haynt (Our today) in Israel; and Loshn un lebn (Language and life) in London; among others.  From 1953 to 1968 he was a member of the editorial board of Letste nayes (Latest news) in Tel Aviv.  He was the author of: Nisht oysdertseyln (Not to be revealed), poetry (Jerusalem: Fraynd fun Yidish, 1941), 122 pp.; Matilda-rokhl (dos s. s.-meydl), roman fun nokhn tsveytn velt-krig (Matilda-Rachel, the S. S. girl, a novel from after WWII) (Tel Aviv: Fraynd fun Yidish, 1958-1972), 15 volumes; Haposhaat, roman (The criminal, a novel) (Tel Aviv, 1969), 325 pp.  He was last living in the state of Israel.

Sources: Sefer hashana shel haitonaim (Yearbook for journalists) (Tel Aviv, 1958/1959), p. 255; Tsukunft (New York) (December 1951); S. Palme, in Loshn un lebn (London) (September 1951); Meylekh Ravitsh, Mayn leksikon (My lexicon), vol. 3 (Montreal, 1958), p. 483.

Yankev Kahan

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 434.]