Moyshe-Leyb Halpern () (January 2, 1886 – August 31, 1932) was a

Yiddish-language 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 ...

modernist poet. He was born and raised in a traditional

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish household in Zlotshev, Galicia and brought to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

at the age of 12 in 1898 to study commercial art. He then began writing

modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in quest of the critic setti ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

.Flanzbaum, Hilene, coordinating editor
''Jewish American Literature: A Norton Anthology''
pp. 245-6 Upon returning to his hometown in 1907, he switched to writing in Yiddish. One of his best-known poems is a satire about his hometown. In order to avoid the military draft, Halpern emigrated to

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 1908 where he became associated with a group of Yiddish poets called '' Di Yunge'' (The Young Ones). He published his first book of poetry in 1919, ''In nyu york'' (In New York), translated to English b
Kathryn Hellerstein
That same year he married Rayzele Barron. Their son Isaac (Ying) Halpern was born in 1923. His second book, Di Goldene Pave, was published in 1924. Halpern also wrote for satirical magazines and ''

Morgen Freiheit ''Morgen Freiheit'' (original title: ; English: ''Morning Freedom'') was a New York City-based daily Yiddish language newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party, USA, founded by Moissaye Olgin in 1922. After the end of World War II the paper ...

'', a communist Yiddish newspaper. After leaving the ''Freheit'' in 1928, he lived in Los Angeles for two years. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in New York in 1932. Moyshe-Leyb Halpern Drawing 1922

Ruth Wisse Ruth Wisse (; Yiddish: רות װײַס; Roskies; born May 13, 1936) is a Canadian academic and political activist. She is the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University ''emerit ...

writes about him thus:

Halpern was generally less sociable than his literary colleagues and everyone who met him in the early immigrant years commented on the solitude which seemed particularly pronounced in him. His fellow poet, Mani Leib, recalled that “we, his friends, like all other Jewish immigrants, also bore the fear of this wondrous unknown called America. But somehow we . . . gave in, adapted ourselves, ‘ripened’ and gradually became . . . real Americans. Not Moishe Leib. He could never compromise or bend.” Though he contributed to the group’s many publications and little magazines, he was slightly apart from the others, the lone wolf, or, as the play on his name suggested, the brooding Lion, Moishe Leib. Almost alone among his fellow writers he failed to find steady work in the small factories, manual trades, or editorial offices where most of the others eventually made their living, and this economic precariousness, which continued practically without interruption until his death, contributed to his image as a troubling nonconformist, and to his artistic distance.

Halpern's importance can be measured in the 50 poems and 400 articles written from 1932 to 1954 on him by his contemporaries, some of whom include Jacob Glatstein,

Itzik Manger Itzik Manger (30 May 1901, Czernowitz, then Austrian-Hungarian Empire – 21 February 1969, Gedera, Israel; ) was a prominent Yiddish language, Yiddish poet and playwright, a self-proclaimed folk bard, visionary, and 'master tailor' of the writ ...

, and Mani Leib.

References

Further reading and Links