Morris Rosenfeld

Born in Stare Boksze, Russian Empire (today in Poland), Morris Rosenfeld received his education in his hometown, in nearby Suwałki, and in Warsaw. He first traveled to the United States in 1882, although he did not settle there until 1886, living in London and Amsterdam during the interim. At various points a tailor and a diamond cutter, Rosenfeld began his writing career after settling in New York City, having become acquainted with staff members of several prominent Yiddish periodicals. While he continued to work as a tailor, Rosenfeld’s poetry became very popular in the burgeoning American Yiddish cultural milieu, and several of his works were set to music. When the Harvard lecturer Leo Wiener translated a collection of Rosenfeld’s poetry into English in 1898, Rosenfeld became the first Yiddish poet to gain wide success beyond Yiddish; earning the moniker “poet of the sweatshops,” he drew invitations to give readings at several colleges and universities and gained attention in Europe as the “prince of the ghetto.” Simultaneously, some of his best-known Yiddish poems were translated into Hebrew and also became part of the Labor Zionist milieu in the Yishuv.