Zalmon Libin, usually known as Z. Libin (1872-1955; real name: Yisrael-Zalman Hurvits or Gurvitz), was a writer of short stories and a playwright in Yiddish theater, active around 1900. "The

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the M ...

of the East Side" oldberg, 1918, 688was born in the Russian Empire and emigrated to the United States in 1892. Sol Liptzin describes his short stories as "about Jewish proletarians, grim portraits of the anguish and tears of tenement dwellers in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

..." iptzin, 1972,82His plays included both tragedies and comedies. ''Gebrokhene Hertzer'' (''Broken Hearts'', 1903) was filmed in 1926, starring Maurice Schwartz. His play ''Di Groyse Frage'' (''The Great Question'') was performed at the Arch Street Theater in Philadelphia in 1916, on the subject of birth control, and starred Jacob P. Adler and Sara Adler. Isaac Goldberg, writing in 1918, was much more impressed with Libin's stories than his plays: "Although he has been mentioned as the compromiser, on the stage, between the purely literary drama and popular trash, there is altogether too little literature in the compromise. Libin makes his living from his plays; he will live through his tales." oldberg, 1918, 688

References

*Liptzin, Sol, ''A History of Yiddish Literature'', Jonathan David Publishers, Middle Village, NY, 1972, . 81-82. * Goldberg, Isaac,
New York's Yiddish Writers
in ''The Bookman, volume 46'' (684-689), Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1918. *Sandrow, Nahma, "Vagabond Stars: A World History of Yiddish Theater," Harper & Row, New York, 1977, . 153.

External links

* American dramatists and playwrights Yiddish-language playwrights Belarusian Jews American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent 1872 births 1955 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States {{theat-bio-stub