Zalman Shneour (; born Shneur Zalkind; 1887 – 20 February 1959) was a prolific

Yiddish 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 ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

poet and writer. In 1955, he was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

Biography

Zalman Shneour was born in

Shklow Shklow is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus, located north of Mogilev on the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It serves as the administrative center of Shklow District. It has a Train station, railway station on the line between Orsha and Mogilev. In 20 ...

(Škłoŭ) in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

(then part of 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 ...

) in 1887. His parents were Isaac Zalkind and Feiga Sussman. At age 13, he left for

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

, the center of literature and Zionism during this time. Shneour moved to

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 ...

in 1902 and was hired by a successful publishing house. He moved to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

in 1904, where he published his first book and a collection of stories. In 1907, Shneour moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study Natural Sciences, Philosophy, and Literature, at the Sorbonne. He traveled throughout Europe from 1908 to 1913 and visited North Africa. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

erupted, Shneour was in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

where the Germans detained him as a Russian citizen. There he wrote his famous Hebrew epic, “Vilna”, a poetic reconstruction of bygone Jewish life. During the years of the war, he worked in a hospital and studied at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. Shneour returned to Paris in 1923. He stayed there until 1940, when Hitler's troops invaded France. Shneour then fled to Spain, and from there he went 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 1941. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Israel in 1951. He died in 1959 in New York. He is remembered among lovers of Yiddish songs for his expression of longing and lust, “Tra-la-la-la,” known as Margaritkelekh, Daisies. Artists such as

Chava Alberstein Chava Alberstein ( , born 8 December 1946 in Poland) is an Israeli musician, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger. She moved to Israel in 1950 and started her music career in 1964. Alberstein has released over sixty albums in Hebrew, Englis ...

have recorded it. Shneour had two children: the American neurochemist and biophysicist Elie A. Shneour, and Renée Rebecca, who became the Spanish dancer Laura Toledo.

Published works

Translations into English

* ''Song of the Dnieper'', translated by Joseph Leftwich. Roy Publishers: New York, 1945. * ''Restless spirit: Selected Writings of Zalman Shneour'', translated by Moshe Spiegel. Thomas Yoseloff: New York, 1963. * ''A Death: Notes of a Suicide'', translated by Daniel Kennedy. Wakefield Press: Cambridge, 2019. .

Awards and recognition

* In 1951, Shneour was awarded the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate p ...

for Literature. * In 1955, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for literature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shneour, Zalman Israeli poets Israel Prize in literature recipients Hebrew-language poets Yiddish-language poets Jews from the Russian Empire University of Paris alumni Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France French emigrants to the United States American emigrants to Israel People from Shklow 1887 births 1959 deaths 20th-century Israeli poets Bialik Prize recipients

Biography

Published works

Translations into English

Awards and recognition

See also

References