Zalman Shneour (born Shneur Zalkind; 1887 – 20 February 1959) was a prolific
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
and
Hebrew poet and writer. He was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
.
Biography
Shneour was born in
Shklov (Škłoŭ) in
Belarus (then part of the
Russian Empire) in 1887. His parents were Isaac Zalkind and Feiga Sussman. At age 13, he left for
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
, the center of literature and Zionism during this time. Shneour moved to
Warsaw in 1902, and was hired by a successful publishing house. He then moved to
Vilnius in 1904, where he began to publish his first book and a collection of stories. These poems were extremely successful, and many editions were published. In 1907, Shneour moved to
Paris to study Natural Sciences, Philosophy, and Literature, at the
Sorbonne. He traveled throughout Europe from 1908 to 1913, and even visited North Africa. At the start of
World War I, Shneour was in
Berlin. During the years of the war, he worked in a hospital and studied at the
University of Berlin. 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 in 1941. 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 have recorded it.
Shneour had two children: the American neurochemist and biophysicist
Elie A. Shneour
Elie Alexis Shneour (December 11, 1925, in Neuilly-sur-Seine − April 14, 2015, in La Jolla) was a French-born American neurochemist, biophysicist and author.
Early life
Shneour was born in France into a Jewish family, the son of Zalman Shn ...
, and Renée Rebecca, who became the Spanish dancer Laura Toledo.
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
* In 1951, Shneour was awarded the
Bialik Prize for Literature.
* In 1955, he was awarded the
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
for literature.
See also
*
List of Bialik Prize recipients
*
List of Israel Prize recipients
This is a complete list of recipients of the Israel Prize from the inception of the Prize in 1953 through to 2022.
List
For each year, the recipients are, in most instances, listed in the order in which they appear on the official Israel Prize ...
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 poets