Uri Nissan Gnessin (1879–1913) was a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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 ...

writer and a pioneer in modern

Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews. Hebrew literature was pro ...

Early life

He was born in

Starodub Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

, and grew up in the small town of Pochep, Orel province. His father was a rabbi and the head of a yeshiva in Pochep. His brother was

Menahem Gnessin Menahem Natanovich Gnessin (russian: Мена́хем Ната́нович Гне́син; he, מנחם גנסין; 1882–1951) was an early Russian Jewish actor and Hebrew language instructor who created the Amateur Dramatic Arts Company in 1907 ...

, a co-founder of the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the ce ...

. After attending

cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

, Gnessin studied at his father's yeshiva, and there became friends with

Yosef Haim Brenner Yosef Haim Brenner ( he, יוֹסֵף חַיִּים בְּרֶנֶר, translit=Yosef Ḥayyim Brener; 11 September 1881 – 2 May 1921) was a Hebrew-language author from the Russian Empire, and one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. Bi ...

, a fellow student. As a boy he wrote poetry and was interested secular subjects; when he was 15 years old, he and Brenner together produced a literary journal that they distributed to a small circle of friends.

Literary career and later years

Around 1899, when Gnessin was 18 years old, he was invited by

Nahum Sokolow Nahum ben Joseph Samuel Sokolow ( he, נחום ט' סוקולוב ''Nachum ben Yosef Shmuel Soqolov'', yi, סאָקאָלאָוו; ) was a Zionist leader, author, translator, and a pioneer of Hebrew journalism. Biography Nahum Sokolow was born ...

to join the editorial board of the Hebrew-language newspaper ''

Ha-Tsefirah ''Ha-Tsfira'' ( he, הצפירה) was a Hebrew-language newspaper published in Poland in 1862 and 1874–1931. History The first issue of ''Ha-Tsfira'' appeared in Warsaw, Congress Poland, in 1862, edited by Chaim Selig Slonimski. ''Ha-Tsfira'' w ...

'', in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, where he began to publish his poems and stories, as well as literary criticism and translations. His first book, ''Zilelei ha-Hayyim'' (The Shadows of Life), a collection of stories and sketches, was published in 1904. In 1906, he co-founded the Hebrew-language publishing house "Nisyonot" (Attempts), and after moving to London in 1907, he co-edited (with Brenner) ''Ha'Meorer'', a Hebrew periodical. In the fall of 1907, he immigrated to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

; however, his experience there disappointed him, and in 1908 he returned to

. In 1913, he died in Warsaw of a heart attack. Uri Nissan Gnessin
. Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature (ITHL). ithl.org.il. Retrieved 2017-05-24. Gnessin wrote in a unique style of prose that was notable for its

expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

language form. Many Israeli literary scholars, such as

Dan Miron Dan Miron ( he, דן מירון, born 1934) is an Israeli-born American literary critic and author. An expert on modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Miron is a Professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently the Leonar ...

and

Gershon Shaked Gershon Shaked ( he, גרשון שקד) (1929–2006) was an Israeli scholar and critic of Hebrew literature. Biography Gerhard Mandel (later Gershon Shaked) was born in Vienna, Austria. He immigrated to Mandate Palestine alone in 1939, and was l ...

have written of his work, especially about the short story "BaGanim" (At the Gardens).

Published works

*''Collected Works'' (two volumes), Tel-Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad and Zemorah-Bitan, 1982 ebrew*''Beside & Other Stories'', with an introduction by

Rachel Albeck-Gidron Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

, New Milford: Toby Press, c2005.

References

External links

Complete collection of his works, both poetry and prose
(Project Ben Yehuda) (in Hebrew) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gnessin, Uri Nissan 1879 births 1913 deaths People from Starodub People from Chernigov Governorate Russian Jews Jewish writers Hebrew-language writers Writers from the Russian Empire Jews from the Russian Empire Date of birth missing Date of death missing