Joseph Opatoshu () (January 1, 1886 – October 7, 1954) was a Polish-born

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 ve ...

novelist and short story writer.Keenoy, Ray (2003). "Opatoshu, Joseph (Yoysef)." In: Sorrel Kerbel (Ed.), ''Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century''. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 747-749. He was the father of actor David Opatoshu.

Biography

Opatoshu was born in 1886 as Yosef Meir Opatowski to Jewish parents, Dovid and Nantshe, near

Mława Mława (; yi, מלאווע ''Mlave'') is a town in north-east Poland with 30,403 inhabitants in 2020. It is the capital of Mława County. It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the battle of Mława was ...

, Congress Poland. His father, a wood merchant, came from a Hasidic family and had become a ''Maskil''. He sent Yosef to the best Polish schools in the country. At the age of 19 Yosef went to study engineering in Nancy, France. However, privation sent him to the United States in 1907, where he settled in New York City, where his name became Joseph Opatovsky, and he later took the professional name of Joseph Opatoshu.

Works

Novels

* 1914 From the New York Ghetto * 1914 Di naye heym * 1918 Alone: Romance of a Forest-Girl * 1919 Hebrew * 1921 In Polish Woods * אין פּוילישע וועלדער, 1921; translated to English from the Yiddish by

Isaac Goldberg Isaac Goldberg (1887 – July 14, 1938) was an American journalist, author, critic, translator, editor, publisher, and lecturer. Born in Boston to Jewish parents, he studied at Harvard University and received a BA degree in 1910, a MA degree in 1911 ...

: In Polish woods, The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1938 * 1926 1863 * ראָמאַן פֿון א פֿערד־גנבֿ ,1917; ''A roman fun a ferd ganev'' (''

Romance of a Horsethief ''Romance of a Horsethief'' (french: Le roman d'un voleur de chevaux, it, Il romanzo di un ladro di cavalli, hbs, Romansa konjokradice) is a 1971 French-Italian-Yugoslav adventure film directed by Abraham Polonsky. It is loosely based on the 191 ...

'') * The Last Revolt, the story of Rabbi Akiba; translated from the Yiddish by Moshe Spiegel, The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1952 * אַ טאָג אין רעגענסבורג, Di Goldene Pave Paris 1955; translated to English from the Yiddish by Jacob Sloan: A day in Regensburg; short stories, The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1968 * The Dancer * A Day in Regensburg, a writing about Jewish German Life in the sixteenth century * Bar-Kokhba (1953), a Hebrew novel

Film adaptation

* A film based on ''

'' was released in 1971. His son, David Opatoshu wrote the screenplay and it was directed by

Abraham Polonsky Abraham Lincoln Polonsky (December 5, 1910 – October 26, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, essayist and novelist. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for '' Body and Soul'' but in the early 1950s ...

. The cast includes

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

as Captain Stoloff,

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

as Kifke,

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She also had a prolific career ...

as Naomi, and his son David as Schloime Kradnik.

References

External links

Works by Joseph Opatoshu in the Steven Spielberg Digital Library

Works by Joseph Opatoshu in Hebrew translation
Chabadlibrary.org * *

on the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

"Tomb Stone Exhibit" web site
Studio portrait of (right to left) Moshe (Moses) Kulbak, Joseph Opatoshu, Maks Eryk and Zalman Reisen, board members of the Yiddish P.E.N. Club.1928
(from the

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

page on the Eilat Gordin Levitan web site)
Portrait
by Marc Chagall on the

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

Digital Collections Program web site
"Workbook" on the Asch-Howe Quarrel, on the Hartford, Connecticut, Trinity College web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opatoshu, Joseph 1886 births 1954 deaths Jewish American writers Polish emigrants to the United States Yiddish-language writers 19th-century Polish Jews