YANKEV KRONENBERG

YANKEV KRONENBERG (1894-1942?)

            He was born in Loyvitsh (Lowicz), Poland.  In his youth he was a collector of Jewish folklore.  In subsequent years, he traveled through Polish towns giving talks on erotic topics (using the Dr. Y. Fogelzon).  He was the editor-publisher of the Vilna daily Der nayer morgn (The new morning) (March 3-August 25, 1921), with a pro-Polish orientation, and of Der emes (The truth) (a single issue appeared).  For a short time, he published in Kalish (Kalisz) Kalisher tog (Kalisz day) in 1925 (using the pen name Dr. Y. Fogelzon).  He edited the anthology Eyropeishe bleter, tsayṭshrift far kunst, literatur un filozofye (European sheets, periodical for art, literature, and philosophy) (Lemberg, 1929).  In book form: Beynashmoshes, literarishe proben (Twilight, literary probes) (Warsaw: Yudishe yugend, 1918), 65 pp.; Far poylens frayhayt, balade (For Poland’s freedom, ballad) (Warsaw, 1919), 13 pp.; Fun benkshaft (From nostalgia) (Warsaw, 1919), 10 pp.; Lila veneda (Lilla Weneda), poetic translation from the work of Juliusz Słowacki (a single notebook); Dorfishe libe (Village love), stories (Warsaw, 1920), 34 pp.; De profundis, brif tsu mayn gelibte (De profundis, a letter to my beloved) (Warsaw, 1920), 14 pp.—all of these short booklets were published together in one volume entitled Af poylns erd (On Polish soil), stories (Vilna: Oyfgang, 1921), 158 pp.; Afn veg tsum emes, sotsyaler roman (On the path to truth, a social novel) (Warsaw-Lodz: Folks-kultur, 1937), 163 pp.  A portion of the abovementioned books, published between 1919 and 1921, were published in the press “Minyatur-biblyotek” (Miniature library) of Shimanovitsh (which may have been Kronenberg’s pseudonym).  He also translated one part of Adam Mickiewicz’s Pan tadeush (Pan Tadeucz) (Warsaw-Lodz, 1938), 38 pp.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) 27 (1939), p. 530.

Yekhezkl Lifshits