Creator Bio
Shmuel Halkin
1897–1960
Shmuel Halkin was a leading Soviet Yiddish poet during the interwar period. His verse was characterized by his attention to neoclassical forms anchored by sophisticated philosophical and biblical allusions. Halkin also worked closely with the Moscow State Yiddish Theatre, producing acclaimed translations, including Kenig Lir (King Lear, 1935), and adaptations of plays by Avrom Goldfaden, such as Bar Kochba (1937). A member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, Halkin was sent to a prison in northern Russia after the repression of Soviet Yiddish culture in 1948. A poetic memoir of his experiences in the camp was later published in Israel.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Bar Kochba
Young Man:Tell us, Bar Kochba, the words to useWhen we return to our homesAnd tell of meeting you.Bar Kochba:For taking of the people’s land,For stealing of the people’s wealth,For towns…
Primary Source
Russia
Russia! If my faith in you were any less great
I might have said something different.
I might have complained: You have led us astray,
And seduced us young wandering gypsies.
Precious to us is each…
Primary Source
Transformation
Year after year, that cruel monster in the heart
growing, sense of guardedness expanding.
Year after year—generations’ blessing
gouged like a needle into the body.
I have wrenched it with irons…