YANKEV-SHAYE FRIDMAN

YANKEV-SHAYE FRIDMAN (January 18, 1880-May 25, 1962)

            He was born in Shavel (Šiauliai), Kovno district, Lithuania.  Until age sixteen he studied in religious elementary school and yeshivas.  For years he was active in the Ḥibat-Tsiyon (Love of Zion) movement.  In 1899 he came to the United States and engaged in various forms of work during his first years.  At age fourteen, he wrote a long story, and in 1903 he reworked it into an “exciting novel” entitled Bay fremde tirn (At strange doors), published in Teglekher herald (Daily herald in New York.  He went on to write sketches, novellas, humorous pieces, features, articles, novels (his own and adaptations of others), reportage pieces, and journalism in: Forverts (Forward) and Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor) in New York; Der yud (The Jew) in Cracow; and Hatsfira (The siren) in Warsaw; among others.  In 1903 he became an internal contributor to Teglekher herald, and later wrote for: Folks-advokat (People’s advocate), Abend-post (Evening mail), Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal), editor of the weekly Di idishe fon (The Jewish banner) and Der hoyz-fraynd (The house friend [with Mikhl Aronson and A. Greyzl]).  From 1908 until 1925, he was among the principal contributors, news editor, and novel writer at Yidisher tageblat (Jewish daily newspaper) in New York (also using such pen names as Lina Perlmut, B. Dirfman, and Ben Shloyme).  In book form: Fridmans mayselekh (Fridman’s stories) (New York, 1904), 96 pp.  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3 (under the name: “Fridman, Yankev-Yisroel”); Y. Khaykin, Yidishe bleter in amerike, a tsushteyer tsu der 75-yoriker geshikhte fun der yidisher prese in di fareynikte shtatn un kanade (Yiddish letters in America, a contribution to the seventy-five year history of the Yiddish press in the United States and Canada) (New York, 1946), see index; obituary notices in the Yiddish and English press, YIVO archives in New York.

Khayim Leyb Fuks