Jacobo Fijman (25 January 1898 – 1 December 1970) was an Argentine poet born in

Orhei Orhei (), also formerly known as Orgeev (), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei is approximately north of the capital, Chișinău. Hist ...

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

, now in

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. He moved to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

with his parents in 1902. Raised in humble circumstances, Fijman was a highly intelligent child interested in art, music, and literature; he later made a modest living as a French teacher and itinerant violinist until a series of

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

s lead to his permanent (and, according to Fijman, not always unpleasant) residency at the Borda Asylum from 1942 until his death. Fijman was keenly interested in

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and religious visions, part of the reason for his conversion from

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in 1930. The poetry of Jacobo Fijman is often

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

, and has traces of

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

. Fijman published three volumes of poems in his life: ''Molino rojo'', ''Hecho de estampas'', and ''Estrella de la Mañana''. His personality inspired the fictional character of ''Samuel Tesler'' from ''

Adán Buenosayres ''Adam Buenosayres'' () is a 1948 novel by the Argentine writer Leopoldo Marechal. The story takes place in Buenos Aires in the 1920s, and follows a vanguard writer who goes through a metaphysical struggle during three days. The book is a humorou ...

'', the widely recognized novel written by

Leopoldo Marechal Leopoldo Marechal (June 11, 1900 – June 26, 1970) was one of the most important Argentine writers of the twentieth century. Biographical notes Born in Buenos Aires into a family of French and Basque descent, Marechal became a primary scho ...

. He died in 1970 at a hospice in at the

Borda Hospital The Hospital Interdisciplinario Psicoasistencial José Tiburcio Borda (alternate: Municipal Hospital of José Tiburcio Borda; nickname: El Borda) is the largest and most notable psychiatric hospital in Argentina. Situated on , El Borda is located ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

.Jacobo_Fijman

References

1898 births 1970 deaths People from Orhei People from Orgeyevsky Uyezd Moldovan Jews Bessarabian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Argentina Argentine people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism 20th-century Argentine poets 20th-century Argentine male writers Jewish Argentine writers Jewish poets Argentine male poets {{Argentina-poet-stub