SH. ZAK

SH. ZAK (1873-October 1939)

            He was born in Okmian, Kiev district, Ukraine.  He was related to Shneur Zaks and Mikhl Gordon.  He received a Jewish and a general education.  For a time he studied at Kiev University, later becoming a traveling businessman.  He visited Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey, Egypt, and Western Europe.  From 1900 until 1923, he lived in Lodz, and thereafter until his death in Warsaw.  He began his writing work with a poem in Sholem-Aleykhem’s Yudishe folks-biblyotek (Jewish people’s library) (Kiev) 2 (1889).  He later became a contributor to the Russian, Russian Jewish, and Yiddish press in Russia, Poland, and other countries.  He was a cofounder and later a contributor to the first Yiddish newspaper in Lodz, Di lodzer nakhriten (The Lodz report) in 1907, and also to Lodzer tageblat (Lodz daily newspaper) in 1908.  He published articles, feature pieces, poetry, travel accounts, and translations from Russian, English, German, and French in: Der nayer folks blat (The new people’s newspaper), Idisher zhurnalist (Jewish journalist), Literatur (Literature), and Di yetstige tsayt (Contemporary times)—in Lodz; Fraynd (Friend) in St. Petersburg and Warsaw; Eyropeishe literatur (European literature), Moment (Moment), Radyo (Radio), Haynt (Today), Folks-tsaytung (People’s newspaper), Foroys (Onward), Vokhnshrift far literatur (Weekly writing for literature), Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves), Hayntige nayes (Today’s news), and Unzer ekspres (Our express)—in Warsaw; Vilner tog (Vilna day) in Vilna; Dos naye lebn (The new life) in Bialystok; and the Yiddish press in America, Canada, and Argentina where he published [serially] his translations of: Bernhard Kellermann’s Der 9ter November (The ninth of November [original: Der 9. November, roman]), which later appeared in book form in Warsaw (1923); Kellermann’s Der tunel (The tunnel [original: Der Tunnel], later in book form in 1924, second edition in 1926; Solomon Poliakov-Litovtsev’s historical novel Shabtay-tsvi (Shabatai Tsvi [original: Sabbatai T︠s︡evi]), later in book form (2 volumes) in Warsaw (1927); Victor Margueritte’s Korbones fun libe (Victims of love), later in book form in Warsaw in 1930; Georg Fink’s Mikh hungert (I am hungry [original: Mich hungert, roman]), later in book form in Warsaw (1930); Charles Dickens, Tsvey shtet (Two cities [original: A Tale of Two Cities]), later in book form in Warsaw (2 volumes) in 1925.  Among his other translations into Yiddish that were published in book form: Maxim Gorky, Varenke olyosova (Varenka Olesova) (1912; Warsaw, 1929), 266 pp.; Gorky’s Gevezene mentshn (Past men [original: Bybshie liudi) (1919; Warsaw, 1929), 173 pp.; Mikhail Artsybashev, Dersteylungen (Stories) (Warsaw, 1913); Anton Chekhov, Dertseylungen (Stories) (Warsaw, 1913); Leo Tolstoy, Vegn der seksuele frage (On the sexual question), a collection of various articles (Warsaw, 1927), 138 pp.; Arthur Conan Doyle, Oysgeveylte dertseylungen (Selected stories), vol. 1 (Warsaw, 1923), vol. 2 (Warsaw, 1925), earlier published in Roman tsaytung (Fiction newspaper) (1906-1907) and Der shtral (Ray [of light]) (1910) in Warsaw.  He also published descriptions of Jewish life in the Caucasus Mountains in Lodzer tageblat (1909-1912), a small portion of which appeared in Iden-kazaken (Jewish Kazaks) (Warsaw, 1919), 26 pp.  He also wrote under such pen names as: Der Shvartser and Der Alter.  He died of hunger and exhaustion during the German occupation of Warsaw: “leaning against a table in the kitchen at TOZ [Towarzystwo Ochrony Zdrowia (Society for the protection of health)], 43 Leshno St.” (B. Mark)

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1; Y. Rapaport, in Bikher-velt (Warsaw) 3 (1927); Foroys (Warsaw) (December 24, 1938); Z. Zilbertsvayg, in Der poylisher id (New York) (January 1942); M. Mozes, in yearbook for Der poylisher id (New York, 1944); Mozes, in Fun noentn over (New York) 2 (1956), p. 208; M. Ravitsh, Mayn leksikon (My lexicon), vol. 2 (Montreal, 1943), pp. 118-20; R. Oyerbakh, in Yidishe shriftn (Lodz) 9 (1947); B. Mark, Umgekumene shrayber fun di getos un lagern (Murdered writers from the ghettos and camps) (Warsaw, 1954), p. 53; Khayim Leyb Fuks, in Fun noentn over (New York) 3 (1957), pp. 196, 226.

Khayim Leyb Fuks