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P eretz
Markish, one of the most enigmatic and overlooked Yiddish poets of the
20th century, is finally given a voice in this brand new edition of a
classic translation of his work.
Born in Volhynia, Ukraine, the
birthplace of Haim Nachman Bialik and some of Hasidic Judaism’s most
famous rabbis, Markish moved to Warsaw in 1921 and formed Di
Khaliastre, or The Gang, which struggled against realism in Yiddish
literature. He continued to publish in the interwar period and in 1926
began a period of deep poetic dedication to Soviet ideology, and
produced works in Yiddish that critics regard as his most effective
verse.
In Yerushe, a bilingual text modeled on an edition
published in Argentina in 1959, each page illuminates the emotional zing
embedded in his cries of patriotism, vengeance, and mourning. In his
famous To a Jewish Dancer, Markish writes: “Tell it / my homeless
one, enchant it so it remembers / Right now you’re dancing for a flock
of mountains / for in the world there’s no one left for you / and you
have no one to turn to,” expressing the subdued, almost mystified sorrow
that would characterize his work in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Nevertheless, this new volume of his work serves as a spectacular
example of Yiddish resilience.
Markish was awarded the Order of Lenin in
1939 and executed by Stalin in 1952, accused of Jewish nationalism.
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