Moysey (Moses) Abramovych Fishbein (; 1 December 1946 – 26 May 2020) was an influential Ukrainian

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 ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

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 ...

origin.

Biography

Moysey Fishbein was born on 1 December 1946 in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

(then a city in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

). He graduated in

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

in 1976 from

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Pedagogical Institute. He later was an editor at the ''Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia''. The early works of the young poet were noted and supported by famous Ukrainian author Mykola Bazhan, who played a significant role in promoting Fishbein's first publications. In 1979 Fishbein was forced to make ''

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

'' to the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, for his role as a

Soviet dissident Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union (USSR) in the period from the mid-1960s ...

. The limited opportunities for an author of Ukrainian poetry in Israel caused him to make ''

Yerida Yerida (, "descent") is emigration by Jews from the State of Israel (or in religious texts, Land of Israel). Yerida is the opposite of aliyah (, lit. "ascent"), which is immigration by Jews to Israel. Zionists are generally critical of the act ...

'' to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1982. There Fishbein worked as a journalist at the

Ukrainian diaspora The Ukrainian diaspora comprises Ukrainians and their descendants who live outside Ukraine around the world, especially those who maintain some kind of connection to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national ide ...

magazine ''Suchasnist'' ("Our Times"), as well as giving Ukrainian and Russian broadcasts of

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

between 1982 and 1995.''Краткая еврейская энциклопедия, том 9, кол. 196–197'', (Jewish Encyclopedia, Society for Research on Jewish Communities, in Russian) After the collapse of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the poet returned to Ukraine in 2003. Moysey Fishbein considered himself a

Ukrainian nationalist Ukrainian nationalism (, ) is the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The origins of modern Ukrainian nationalism emerge during the Cossack uprising against the Poli ...

and took an active part in the social and political life of Ukraine. His speech on the requiem-meeting about the

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

tragedy in 2006 was often cited among the Ukrainians. In March 2008, the poet received a special award from Head of

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

for "zeal for God’s Glory and his great contribution in informing the public of

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Andrey Sheptytsky Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; ; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Galicia and Archbishop of Lviv from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure in office spanned two world wars and six political r ...

i’s and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church clergy’s sacrificial efforts to rescue

Jews 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 ...

during

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

." The author was a member of the

Writer's Union of Ukraine The National Writers' Union of Ukraine () (''НСПУ'') is a voluntary social-creative association of professional writers, poets, prose writers, playwrights, critics, and translators. History The National Writers' Union of Ukraine was found ...

and Ukrainian center of International

PEN Club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internati ...

. According to the ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

'', Fishbein helped to organize medical treatment in Israel and later in West Germany for the Ukrainian children injured by the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

. Fishbein died on 26 May 2020, aged 73.Ukrainian writer Moysey Fishbein has died

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(26 May 2020) He was survived by his wife Olena. Also, his 4 granddaughters and his daughters Aviva (1985) and Maria (1976) from his first marriage to Ludmila.

Works

* "Ranniy Ray" ("Early Paradise") – collected works * "Zbirka Bez Nazvy" ("An Untitled Compilation") * Дивний сад» / "Garden of Miracles", Vaselka, Kyiv, 1991 - poems for children * «Апокриф» / "Apocrypha", Dnipro, Kyiv, 1996 - poems, translations, poetry * «Розпорошени тини» / "Scattered Shadows", Calabria, Lviv, 2001 – poems * «Аферизми» / "Stains", Pact, Kyiv, 2003 * «Ранний рай» / "Paradise at dawn", Pact, Kyiv, 2006 - selected works * «Райнер Мария Рильке. Сто поезий у прекладі Мойсея Фишбейна» ("Rainer Maria Rilke. One hundred poems translated by Moisei Fishbein"), Libid, Kyiv, 2012 * «Пророк» / "Prophet", Labid, Kyiv, 2017 – poems, translations One of the many books of poems and poetical translations of Fishbein was published in the "Suchasnist" publishing house in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1984. The poet was one of the few Ukrainian authors, presented in the world anthology "Stanzas of the century" published in Russia at the end of 20th century. Several of Fishbein's poems were translated into English by

Roman Turovsky Roman Mykhailovych Turovsky-Savchuk (born May 16, 1961) is an American artist-painter, photographer and videoinstallation artist, as well as a lutenist-composer,

References

External links

Fishbein poetry in English

Fishbein poetry in Ukrainian

MOSES FISHBEIN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishbein, Moysey Soviet dissidents Writers from Chernivtsi Bukovina Jews 1946 births 2020 deaths Jewish Ukrainian poets Ukrainian male poets Ukrainian nationalists Recipients of the Vasyl Stus Prize 20th-century Ukrainian translators