Chaim Leib Fox (born Chaim Leib Fuchs/Fuks, 1894 – 1984), was a Yiddish poet, writer and a journalist associated with literary life of

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1953, Fox worked on encyclopaedic projects, contributing over 3,000 articles for the ''Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur'' and publishing ''Hundert yor yidishe un hebreyishe literatur in Kanade'' on Canadian-Jewish diaspora.

Life

Chaim Leib Fuchs was born in 1894 in

. He played a significant role in the literary life of the city, where he cofounded the Łódź writers’ group and joined the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

artistic group

Yung-yidish Yung-yidish, also spelled Jung Idysz, was the first Jewish avant-garde artistic and literary group in Poland, active in Łódź in 1918–1921. The members exhibited in Poland and abroad and published an eponymous journal, as well as other literary ...

. His poems, essays and prose appeared in ''Insel'', ''

Lodzer veker ''Lodzer veker'' (לאדזשער וועקער⁩⁩; וועכענטלעכע ארבעטער צייטונג, Lodzsher veker) was a newspaper of the General Jewish Labour Bund in Łódź, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, i ...

'', ', '' Folkstsaytung'' and ''Vilner tog.'' His poetry was rich in religious and national themes. Fox wrote about the experience of living in Łódź in many essays and a monograph called ''Lodzh shel Mayle'' (1972). In the mid‑1920s he married writer

Rikuda Potash Rikuda Potash ( he, רִיקוּדָה פּוֹטַש; ; 1906 – 15 May 1965) was a Polish-born Israeli Yiddish, Yiddish language poet and short story writer. Sholem Asch called her "the Poetess of Jerusalem". Biography Potash was born in Ojców. ...

; the couple had a daughter who was born in 1926. He briefly associated with General Jewish Labour Bund, then joined the Labor

Zionists Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...

. In 1936–1938 Fox lived in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

, where he joined

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the Is ...

. He spent the years 1940–1946 in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, afterwards moving back to Łódź. He then lived briefly in France, where he cofounded Yiddish literary association and the community of Eastern European Jews. Fox immigrated to the U.S. in 1953, where he settled in New York. He published in New York-based Yiddish press: ''Zukunft'', ''Forverts'', ''Morgn zhurnal'' and ''

Fraye Arbeter Shtime ''Freie Arbeiter Stimme'' ( yi, פֿרייע אַרבעטער שטימע, romanized: ''Fraye arbeṭer shṭime'', ''lit.'' 'Free Voice of Labor') was a Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper published from New York City's Lower East Side between ...

''. His works also appeared in the Canadian Yiddish newspaper ''

Keneder Adler ''Der Keneder Adler'' () was Canada's leading Yiddish newspaper from 1907 until 1977. Founded in Montreal by Hirsch Wolofsky, the ''Adler'' underpinned Yiddish cultural activity in the city for much of the 20th century. History After losing his ...

''. Additionally, Fox wrote over 3,000 articles for the ''Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur.'' In 1980 Fox published ''Hundert yor yidishe un hebreyishe literatur in Kanade'' – a compendium on the history of literature and culture of the Jewish diaspora in Canada. The large comprehensive volume covered 429 Yiddish and Hebrew authors who published in Canada in 1870–1970. According to Vivian Felsen, it was "the most ambitious attempt to preserve Yiddish culture in Canada." The book was translated into French in 2005 by Pierre Anctil. Fox died in 1984.

Selected works

Poetry

* ''Dorshtike Lemer'' (1926) * ''Zingt Mir di Velt'' (1936) * ''Sho fun Lid'' (1951) * ''Di Teg Neygn di Kep'' (1969) * ''Der akhter himl,'' ''lider, tefiles, poemes fun mayn velt un fun mayn erets yisroel'' (1974) * ''Tsu di himlen aroyf'' (1982)

Novels

* ''Gyoras Letster Veg'' (1939)

Nonfiction

* ''A yidish shtetl bay der khinezish-sovetisher grenets'' (1958) * ''Der yidisher khurbn in poyln in di verk fun katsenelson, broderzon un segalovitsh'' (1965) * ''Lodzh shel Mayle'' (1972) * ''Hundert yor yidishe un hebreyishe literatur in Kanade'' (1980)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Chaim Leib 1894 births 1984 deaths Yiddish-language poets Yiddish-language journalists Writers from Łódź Jewish Polish writers Polish emigrants to the United States