Ilya Zinovyevich Gordon (russian: Илья Зиновьевич Гордон; in Zelenopol,

Yekaterinoslav Governorate The Yekaterinoslav Governorate (russian: Екатеринославская губерния, Yekaterinoslavskaya guberniya; uk, Катеринославська губернія, translit=Katerynoslavska huberniia) or Government of Yekaterinos ...

– 28 February 1989 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

), better known as Elye Gordon ( yi, אלי גאָרדאָן), was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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 ...

author. He was born in Zelenopol, a Jewish agricultural colony in Russia between

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

and

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

(today

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

), but grew up in an orphanage in

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of ...

. Gordon studied at the

Yiddish language 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 ...

departments (''rabfak'') of the

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 ...

Pedagogical Institute, then

Pedagogical Institute. As a volunteer for the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Gordon was twice decorated with the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

. Wartime themes would also figure in his literary work. Elye Gordon published stories in almost every Soviet Yiddish periodical, including ''Yunger Boy-Klang'' (

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

, 1928), ''Der Shtern'' (1933); and ''Heymland'' (Moscow, 1948)."Gordon, Elye" (1958), ''Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur''. He debuted in book form in 1930 with two works: a novel, ''Vildgroz'' (Wild grass), and a collection of short stories, ''Af griner erd'' (On the green soil), both published in Moscow. Over the years he published several more novels and numerous short stories, collected in at least 14 books. * "Vildgroz" (1930) * "Af griner erd" (1930) * "Ingul-Boyar" (1935) * "In a gosregn" (1937) * "Dray brider" (1938) * "Dertseylungen un noveln" (1939) * "In eygene kantn" (the novel "Dray brider" and short stories) (1969) * "Unter der heyser zun" (1978) * "Laykht-turem" (1989)

Notes

References

* "Gordon, Elye" (1958). In: ''Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur'' iographical dictionary of modern Yiddish literature Vol. 2. New York: Congress for Jewish Culture. Columns 135-136. 1907 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Russian male writers People from Zaporizhzhia Oblast Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the USSR State Prize Soviet Jews Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet war correspondents Soviet writers Ukrainian Jews Yiddish-language writers {{Russia-writer-stub