Abraham Regelson (1896–1981;

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אברהם רגלסון) was an Israeli

poet, author,

children's author Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

, translator, and editor.

Biography

Abraham Regelson was born in

Hlusk Hlusk ( be, Глуск; russian: Глуск, Glusk; pl, Hłusk; ) is an urban-type settlement in the Hlusk District in the Mogilev Region of Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of the Hlusk District, and is home to nearly half of its ...

, now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

in 1896, and died at his home in Neveh Monossohn,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1981. His parents were Yehuda Zeev Regelson and Rashel Ozick. He is the maternal uncle of

Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children. She moved to the Bronx with her Belarusian-Jewish parents from Hlusk, ...

. Regelson emigrated with his family to the United States when he was nine years old. He studied at a

heder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

and public schools. He never finished formal studies, but was an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

who spent many hours in libraries.

Literary and journalism career

At first he earned his livelihood as a librarian and Hebrew teacher, and began publishing his poetry, stories and translations in various Hebrew publications, both in America and in what was then Palestine. His first

aliya Aliya ( ar, عَلِيَّة‎ ), Aaliyah, Alia, or Aliyah is an Arabic feminine given name. It is the feminine of the name Ali, meaning "exalted". People * Aliya bint Ali (1911–1950), Queen of Iraq * ''Aliyah bint Abdallah al-Mansur'', was ...

(immigration) to

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israel ...

was in the year 1933. Employed by the daily newspaper ''

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by ...

'', he was one of the founders of the children's weekly supplement ''Davar l'Yladim'', where his classic "Masa HaBubot l'Eretz-Yisrael" ("The Dolls' Journey to Eretz Israel") was first published in installments. Three years later, after having lost an infant son, and with two of his older children endangered by

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

, he returned to the US with his family. There he earned his living by writing for the Yiddish press, while publishing several books containing his Hebrew poetry, legends and philosophical essays. He returned to Israel in 1949, where he worked as an editor for the publishing house

Am Oved Am Oved ("A Working People") is an Israeli publishing house. History Am Oved was founded in 1942 by Berl Katznelson, who was its first Editor in Chief. It was created as an organ of the Histadrut, Israel's federation of Labor, with a goal of pub ...

. He was also on the staff of the daily newspaper '' Al Ha-Mishmar'', where he featured as a regular columnist. Regelson's language combined old and new in a captivating style. His innovative usages contributed to the rejuvenation of the Hebrew tongue. The influence of English literature added an appealing flavor to his work. He was a prolific translator and enriched Hebrew with many classics of English literature.

Awards and recognition

* In 1964, Regelson was awarded the

Brenner Prize The Brenner Prize is an Israeli literary prize awarded annually by the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and the Haft Family Foundation. It was founded in the name of the author Yosef Haim Brenner Yosef Haim Brenner ( he, יוֹסֵף חַ� ...

. * In 1972, he was awarded the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ...

for

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

. * In 1976, he won the Neuman Prize from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

's (NYU) Hebrew Department for his contribution to Hebrew literature.

References

External links

A commemorative website

Many of Regelson's works
have been made available through The Ben-Yehuda Project website {{DEFAULTSORT:Regelson, Abraham 1896 births 1981 deaths Israeli children's writers Israeli poets Israeli translators Hebrew-language poets Modern Hebrew writers Brenner Prize recipients Israeli Jews Belarusian Jews Jews in Mandatory Palestine Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent American emigrants to Israel 20th-century translators 20th-century poets

Biography

Literary and journalism career

Awards and recognition

See also

References

Further reading

External links