Monday 1 April 2019

YOYSEF KITS (JOSEPH KAITZ)


YOYSEF KITS (JOSEPH KAITZ) (August 27, 1890-November 30, 1960)
            He was born with the surname Kutsenogi in Haysin (Haysyn), Podolia.  He received a traditional as well as a secular education.  From 1913 he was living in the United States.  For a lengthy period of time, he traveled around buying up Yiddish books.  He also worked as a teacher.  In 1920 he settled in Los Angeles.  He debuted in print in 1911 with a story in the Odessa daily newspaper Gut morgen (Good morning).[1]  He published stories and feature pieces in such American periodicals as: Di glaykhheyt (Equality), Der tog (The day), Folks tsaytung (People’s newspaper), Di tsayt (The times), and primarily in Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor).  In 1921 he co-edited Pasifishe folks tsaytung (Pacific people’s newspaper) and in 1925 the monthly Zunland (Sun land).  In book form: Kvalyes (Waves), stories (New York: Zangen, 1917), 126 pp.; Sholem aleykhems taytsh-vertlekh (The meaning of Sholem Aleichem’s sayings) (Los Angeles: Keshene-biblyotek, 1924/1925), 30 pp.; Kvitlakh (Notes) (Los Angeles: Keshene-biblyotek, 1924/1925), 28 pp.; Kleyn-mendele, ṭipn, bilder, dertseylungen un glaykhvertlakh fun mendele moykher sforims verk (Little Mendele, types, images, stories, and aphorisms in the work of Mendele Moykher-Sforim) (New York, 1931), 208 pp.; Fun mayn gortn, kurtse dertseylungen (From my garden, short stories) (New York, 1935), 128 pp.; Kleyn-sholem-aleykhem, ṭipn, bilder, vertlekh un ṭaytsh-vertlekh fun sholem-aleykhems verk (Little Sholem Aleichem, types, sayings, and sayings explained from the work of Sholem Aleichem), 2 vols. (New York, 1939-1942); Kleyn-perets, antalogye fun y. l. peretss verk (Little Perets, anthology from the work of Y. L. Perets) (New York, 1945), 126 pp.  He died in Los Angeles.

Sources: Sh. Rozenfeld, in Tog (New York) (May 16, 1931); A. Mudoni, in Morgn-zhurnal (New York) (September 11, 1935); Yankev Glatshteyn, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (December 23, 1960).
Berl Cohen



[1] Zalmen Reyzen (Leksikon, vol. 3) erroneously states Morgn zhurnal (Morning journal).

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