Shmuel Yankev Imber (
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Шмуэль Яков Имбер,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: שמואל יעקב אימבר,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
: Samuel Jakub Imber, also: Samuel Jacob Imber; 24 February 1889 – 1942) was a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
poet and publicist writing in
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
and
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 ...
languages. He was regarded as one of the originators and trailblazers of
Yiddish poetry
Yiddish literature encompasses all those belles-lettres written in Yiddish, the language of Ashkenazic Jewry which is related to Middle High German. The history of Yiddish, with its roots in central Europe and locus for centuries in Eastern Euro ...
in Galicia, who popularized it in big intellectual centers, and one of the first
neo-romantics of Yiddish poetry.
Life
He was born in
Galicia (some sources claim in
Sasów, some in )
on 24 February 1889,
as a son of the Hebrew writer and teacher Shmaryahu Imber and nephew of
Naftali Herz Imber
Naftali Herz Imber ( he, , yi, ; December 27, 1856 – October 8, 1909) was a Jewish Hebrew-language poet, most notable for writing "Hatikvah", the poem that became the basis for the Israeli national anthem.
Biography
Naftali Herz Imber ...
, the author of
Hatikvah
Hatikvah ( he, הַתִּקְוָה, haTīqvā, ; ) is the national anthem of the State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return t ...
. Shmuel Yankev received traditional Jewish religious education, and also went to Polish gymnasiums in
Złoczów
Zolochiv ( uk, Золочів, pl, Złoczów, german: Solotschiw, yi, זלאָטשאָוו, ''Zlotshov'') is a small city of district significance in Lviv Oblast of Ukraine, the administrative center of Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Rai ...
and
Tarnopol
Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...
. As a poet he debuted in the weekly newspaper ''Tshernovitser Vokhnblat'' in 1905. In 1907 he published Polish translations of Jewish and Ukrainian literature, and also own poems under the nom de plume Jan Niemiara. Together with
Melech Ravitch
Zechariah Choneh Bergner ()
(27 November 1893 – 20 August 1976), better known by his pen name Melech Ravitch (), was a Canadian Yiddish poet and essayist. Ravitch was one of the world's leading Yiddish literary figures after the Holocaust. Hi ...
from 1909, he strove to promote the aesthetic ideals of
neo-romanticism in Lviv Jewish literary centers, inspired by Jewish writers such as
Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist.
Biography
Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...
and
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
. In this year he also published his first Yiddish poetry collection ''Vos Ikh Zing un Zog'' (''What I Sing And Say''). In 1911 he published a romantic poem ''Esterke'' about a legendary romance of Polish king
Casimir III the Great
Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...
and
daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...
of a Jewish blacksmith, that gained him a further recognition and acclaim.
In 1911 he started studies in English and Polish literature at the
University of Lemberg
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
.
In 1912 he visited Palestine, which resulted in publication of ''In Yidishn Land (In Jewish Land)'' in 1912, later republished in Vienna in 1918 as ''Heymlider (Home Poems).'' In 1914 he published love poems in a tome ''Royznbleter'' (''Rose Flowers''). Imber was unable to complete his studies because he was recruited into the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...
in 1915.
After the
Lemberg pogrom in November 1918, he traveled to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and joined a group of Jewish authors and continued to write and edit. There, along with other neo-romantic Yiddish poets such as Ravitch, Melech Chmelnitzky, , and
Uri Zvi Greenberg
Uri Zvi Greenberg ( he, אוּרִי צְבִי גְּרִינְבֵּרְג; September 22, 1896 – May 8, 1981; also spelled Uri Zvi Grinberg) was an acclaimed Modern Hebrew poetry, Israeli poet, journalist and politician who wrote in Yiddish ...
, Imber formed the group known as Young Galicia, that began to merge traditional poetry with modern formal experimentation popular in Vienna.
Königsberg called Imber the “head” of the movement (and himself as the "heart"). In 1918 they published an anti-war poetry anthology ''Inter Arma'', redacted by Imber. After several month of travel in 1921, Imber returned to now-independent Poland and settled in Lwów, where he finished his studies.
In 1923–1928 he lived in USA, where he redacted a political and literary magazine ''Di Gegenwart'', and an anthology ''Modern Yiddish Poetry'' (latin transcription; New York, 1927). After returning to Poland in 1928 he moved to Kraków for a while and concentrated on publicist work, mostly in Polish. He completed his academic studies and earned a doctorate degree from
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
on 25 June 1932,based on the dissertation ''Oskar Wilde jako poeta liryczny'' (''Oscar Wilde as a lyrical poet'') written under supervision of prof.
Roman Dyboski
Roman Dyboski (19 November 1883 in Cieszyn – 1 June 1945 in Kraków) was a Polish philologist and literature scholar. Professor at the Jagiellonian University since 1911. Member of the Polish Academy of Learning.
He was son of Antoni Dyboski
...
.
The dissertation was published as ''Pieśń i dusza Oskara Wilde'a'' in 1934. His polemic journalist work, mostly about rising antisemitism in Poland, was published in books ''Asy czystej rasy'' (''Pure-breed Aces,'' 1934) and ''Kąkol na roli'' (''
Corncockle
''Agrostemma'' is a genus of annual plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, containing the species known as corncockles. Its best-known member is ''A. githago'', the common corncockle, which is a native of Europe. The species is a weed of cereals ...
on the Field'', 1938).
First years of the war Imberg spent in his family regions. He remained in Lviv when it was annexed by the Soviet Union.
He did not survive the war, and the circumstances of his death are unclear. According to some biographers, he was murdered in Złoczów or Jeziorna, most likely by Ukrainian antisemites during pogroms following the Nazi occupation in 1942.
Works
* ''Vos Ikh Zing un Zog'' (1909)
* ''Esterke'' (1911)
* ''In Yidishn Land'' (1912)
* ''Royznbleter'' (1914)
* ''Vald Oys Vald Ayn'' (1920)
* ''Viktorya'' (1920)
* ''Geklibene Dikhtungen'' (1921)
* ''Pieśń i dusza Oskara Wilde'a'' (1934)
* ''Asy czystej rasy'' (1934)
* ''Kąkol na roli'' (1938)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imber, Shmuel Yankev
1889 births
1942 deaths
Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Jewish Ukrainian writers
Jewish Polish writers
Austro-Hungarian Jews
Yiddish-language poets
Yiddish-language journalists
Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I
Ukrainian Jews who died in the Holocaust
Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust
Polish civilians killed in World War II