Uri Nissan Gnessin (1879–1913) was a

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 ...

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 ...

writer and a pioneer in modern

Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...

Early life

He was born in

Starodub Starodub (, , ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets (river), Babinets River in the Dnieper basin, southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

, and grew up in the small town of Pochep, Orel province. His father was a rabbi and the head of a yeshiva in Pochep. His brother was Menahem Gnessin, a co-founder of the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...

. After attending

cheder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...

, Gnessin studied at his father's yeshiva, and there became friends with

Yosef Haim Brenner Joseph Chaim Brenner (; 11 September 1881 – 2 May 1921) was a Hebrew-language author from the Russian Empire, and one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature, a thinker, publicist, and public leader. In addition to his literary innovations ...

, a fellow student. As a boy he wrote poetry and was interested in secular subjects; when he was 15 years old, he and Brenner together produced a literary journal that they distributed to a small circle of friends.

Literary career and later years

Around 1899, when Gnessin was 18 years old, he was invited by

Nahum Sokolow Nahum ben Joseph Samuel Sokolow ( ''Nachum ben Yosef Shmuel Soqolov'', ; 10 January 1859 – 17 May 1936) was a Jewish-Polish people, Polish writer, translator, and journalist, the fifth President of the World Zionist Organization, editor of ''H ...

to join the editorial board of the Hebrew-language newspaper '' Ha-Tsefirah'', in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, where he began to publish his poems and stories, as well as literary criticism and translations. His first book, ''Zilelei ha-Hayyim'' (The Shadows of Life), a collection of stories and sketches, was published in 1904. In 1906, he co-founded the Hebrew-language publishing house "Nisyonot" (Attempts), and after moving to London in 1907, he co-edited (with Brenner) ''Ha'Meorer'', a Hebrew periodical. In the fall of 1907, he immigrated to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

; however, his experience there disappointed him, and in 1908 he returned to

. In 1913, he died in Warsaw of a heart attack. Uri Nissan Gnessin
. Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature (ITHL). ithl.org.il. Retrieved 2017-05-24. Gnessin wrote in a unique style of prose that was notable for its expressionistic language form. Many Israeli literary scholars, such as

Dan Miron Dan Miron (; born 1934) is an Israeli-born American literary critic and author. An expert on modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Miron is a Professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently the Leonard Kaye Professor of ...

and Gershon Shaked have written of his work, especially about the short story "BaGanim" (At the Gardens).

Published works

*''Collected Works'' (two volumes), Tel-Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad and Zemorah-Bitan, 1982 ebrew*''Beside & Other Stories'', with an introduction by Rachel Albeck-Gidron, New Milford:

Toby Press Toby Press was an American comic-book company that published from 1949 to 1955. Founded by Elliott Caplin, brother of cartoonist Al Capp and himself an established comic strip writer, the company published reprints of Capp's '' Li'l Abner'' str ...

, c2005.

References

External links

Complete collection of his works, both poetry and prose
(Project Ben Yehuda) (in Hebrew) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gnessin, Uri Nissan 1879 births 1913 deaths People from Starodub People from Chernigov Governorate Jewish writers Hebrew-language writers Writers from the Russian Empire Jews from the Russian Empire Date of birth missing Date of death missing