Moyshe-Leyb Halpern

Upon returning to his hometown in 1907, he switched to writing in Yiddish. One of his best-known poems is a satire about his hometown. In order to avoid the military draft, Halpern emigrated to New York City in 1908 where he became associated with a group of Yiddish poets called Di Yunge (The Young Ones). He published his first book of poetry in 1919, In nyu york (In New York), translated to English by Kathryn Hellerstein • Illustration — Self-portrait, 1927 That same year he married Rayzele Barron. His second book, Di Goldene Pave, was published in 1924. Halpern also wrote for satirical magazines and Morgen Freiheit, a communist Yiddish newspaper. After leaving the Freheit in 1928, he lived in Los Angeles for two years. He died of a heart attack in New York in 1932. • Illustration — Self-portrait, 1922 Ruth Wisse writes about him thus: Halpern was generally less sociable than his literary colleagues and everyone who met him in the early immigrant years commented on the solitude which seemed particularly pronounced in him. His fellow poet, Mani Leib, recalled that “we, his friends, like all other Jewish immigrants, also bore the fear of this wondrous unknown called America. But somehow we.. Gave in, adapted ourselves, ‘ripened’ and gradually became.. Real Americans. Not Moishe Leib. He could never compromise or bend.” Though he contributed to the group’s many publications and little magazines, he was slightly apart from the others, the lone wolf, or, as the play on his name suggested, the brooding Lion, Moishe Leib. Halpern's importance can be measured in the 50 poems and 400 articles written from 1932 to 1954 on him by his contemporaries, some of whom include Jacob Glatstein, Itzik Manger, and Mani Leib.

• Name — Moyshe-Leyb Halpern • Born — 2 January 1886 • Birthplace — Zlotshev, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austro-Hungarian Empire • Died — 31 August 1932 • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Occupation — Poet • Language — German, Yiddish • Genre — Modernist poetry • Spouse — Rayzele Barron • Children — Issac Halpern