Two Cities

Peretz Hirshbein (Hirshbeyn) was a prolific Yiddish writer, remembered chiefly for his travelogues, his memoirs, and his dramatic works. His legacy includes a range of plays, from naturalist dramas rich in political symbolism to his beloved, understated plays concerning the lives of rural Jews. Hirshbein lived an itinerant life, traveling constantly around the world together with his wife, the Yiddish poet Esther Shumiatsher-Hirshbein, and producing dozens of travelogues about locales both exotic and mundane. He eventually settled in Los Angeles.