J. I. Segal (, ''Yud Yud Segal'') (1896 – March 7, 1954), born Yaakov Yitzchak Skolar, was a Canadian Yiddish poet and journalist. He was a pioneer in the creation of Canadian Yiddish literary journals, and was the foremost proponent of

literary modernism Modernist literature originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterised by a self-conscious separation from traditional ways of writing in both poetry and prose fiction writing. Modernism experimented with literary form a ...

in Yiddish Canada. His lyric poetry combines religious and folk tradition, modernist American literary practice, and Canadian landscape and atmosphere.

Biography

J. I. Segal was born Yaakov Yitzchak Skolar in 1896 in Slobkovitz,

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now Solobkovtsy,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), the second youngest of seven children. He moved to the village of Koritz with his family at the age of three, after the death of his father. Segal immigrated to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1911. Upon arriving in Canada, he found work as a tailor in the

garment industry Clothing industry or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embellishm ...

, and then later as a teacher at the Jewish People's School. By 1915 he had begun submitting poetry to the ''

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 ...

''. In 1918 he published his first collection of poetry, ''Fun Mayn Velt'' ("From My World"), which brought him immediate recognition, not only in Canada but in New York City and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1923, Segal and his family relocated to New York, where he joined Di Yunge poet Mani Leib's shoemaker collective. After publishing two collections of poetry, Segal returned to Montreal in 1928 after the death of his young daughter, Tsharna, whom he often addresses in later poems. From 1941 until his death he was co-editor of the literary pages of the ''Keneder Adler'' along with

Melech Ravitch Zechariah Choneh Bergner (; 27 November 1893 – 20 August 1976), better known by his pen name Melech Ravitch (), was a Yiddish poet and essayist. Ravitch was one of the world's leading Yiddish literary figures both before and after the Holocau ...

. Segal was a prolific poet and the author of twelve volumes of poetry, among them, ''Sefer Idish'' ("The Book of Yiddish"), the last collection published in his lifetime, and ''Letste Lider'' ("Last Poems"), published posthumously. Since 1969, the Jewish Public Library of Montreal has awarded literary and translation prizes in his honor. The J. I. Segal Awards include bi-annual awards for the Best Quebec Book on a Jewish Theme, a writing award for writing in Yiddish, and an award for a Translation for a Book on a Jewish Theme. Past winners have included Leonard Cohen, Naim Kattan and Chava Rosenfarb. The 2022 awards will be announced in December, 2022.

References

External links

J. I. Segal on the Yiddish Book Center's Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Segal, J. I. 1896 births 1954 deaths People from Khmelnytskyi Oblast People from Ushitsky Uyezd Jewish Ukrainian writers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Canadian publishers (people) Jewish Canadian writers Writers from Montreal Yiddish culture in Quebec Yiddish-language journalists Yiddish-language poets Burials at Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, Montreal