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David Edelstadt (
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
: דוד עדעלשטאַט; May 9, 1866,
Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
– 17 October 1892,
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
) was a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n- American
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
in the
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
language. Edelstadt immigrated to Cincinnati and worked as a buttonhole maker, while publishing Yiddish labor poems in ''Varhayt'' and ''Der Morgenshtern''. He was editor of the Yiddish anarchist newspaper Fraye Arbeter Shtime in 1891 but left the post after contracting
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, moving west to seek a cure. He continued to send the newspaper his poems until his death a year later.


Biography

Edelstadt was born on May 9, 1866, in Kaluga. His father, Moishe (Moses) Edelstadt, was a low-ranking
policeman A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...
, and later an office worker. In his youth, Edelstadt studied with a Lithuanian
melamed Melamed, ''Melammed'' ( "teacher") in Biblical times denoted a religious teacher or instructor in general (e.g., in Psalm 119:99 and Proverbs 5:13), but which in the Talmudic period was applied especially to a teacher of children, and was almost i ...
for a short time. In 1873–1876, he studied
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
with a private teacher. At the age of 9, Edelstadt began to write poetry, with some of these poems later being published in the
Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...
newspaper Gubernskie Vedomosti. In 1880 Edelstadt moved to Kiev, to live with his older brothers. Here he met revolutionary populists and began adopting their ideology into his writings. Following the Kiev pogrom in 1881, Edelstadt ended up in a hospital for pogromized Jews in Pechersk. Here Edelstadt met Dr. M. E. Mandelstam, who suggested that Edelstadt enter university. Following his hospitalization, Edelstadt and his brother joined a cell of the Am-Olam organization, leaving Russia for a Jewish agricultural commune in the US. In May 1882, Edelstadt arrived in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
via
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and later settled in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, working as a factory worker. While in the United States, Edelstadt continued to write poetry in Russian, eventually learning and writing in English as well. While in Ohio, Edelstadt became interested in anarchism. Edelstadt participated in the Pioneers of Freedom, the first Jewish anarchist group in New York which was formed following the arrest of the
Haymarket martyrs The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886 at Haymarket Square i ...
. In January 1889, Edelstadt's first poem written in America appeared in the Russian Social Democratic newspaper ''Znamya'' in New York. In search of work, Edelstadt moved to
Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...
, then returned to New York. Here he began to write poetry in
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
, which was published in the anarchist Jewish newspaper ''Warhait''. His writings have also been published in the London magazine ''Arbeiter Friend'' and in the New York socialist newspaper "''Morgenstern''". In 1891, Edelstadt contracted tuberculosis, and he was forced to leave New York for treatment in the city of
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, where he died on October 17, 1892.


See also

* Pioneers of Liberty *
Ori Kritz Ori Kritz (Hebrew: אורי קריץ) is an Associate Professor and head of the Hebrew Language and Literature program at the University of Oklahoma, a part of the Judaic Studies departmenShe is a multilingual writer and speaker, specializing in Y ...
(researcher)


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Poems by David Edelstadt


* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edelstadt, David 1866 births 1892 deaths 19th-century American Jews 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American poets American anarchists American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American male poets American newspaper editors American opinion journalists American people of Russian-Jewish descent American poets in Yiddish Anarchist writers Editors of Fraye Arbeter Shtime Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish American poets Jewish anarchists Jewish Russian writers Jews from Colorado People from Kaluga People from Kaluzhsky Uyezd Yiddish-language satirists