SHOLEM-ALEYKHEM: KRITISHE ETYUDN שאלעמ־אלייכעמ : קריטישער עטיודנ
Kiyev [Kiev]: Melukhe farlag far di Natsyonale minderhaytn in USSR, 1939. Item #43587
First edition. Original paper wrappers, 8vo, 98 pages, includes illustrations. 15 cm. In Yiddish. Title translates as “Sholem Aleichem: Critical Studies.”
Holocaust-era imprint.
Irme Drucker, was “A prose author and literary critic, he was born in the town of Chernobyl, not far from Kiev, Ukraine. His father was an itinerant teacher and cantor, and a great bibliophile. The future author grew up in a world of music. His home was filled with Jewish and Ukrainian melodies. Irme inherited from his father a fine baritone voice.
In 1923 he came to Kiev with one dream—to study music and become a professional singer. He was accepted into music school. His training proceeded with success, he appeared on stage in concerts performing arias from operas, with Yiddish and Ukrainian folk songs—but he did not become a singer. Kiev was at that time one of the largest centers of Yiddish literature in the country, and he became a member of the literary group led by Dovid Hofshteyn….
…He moved to Odessa, where a major group of Yiddish authors was active—Khone Vaynerman, Ayzik Huberman, I. Shneur-Okun, Note Lurye, and others. This amplified the range of his literary interests to research on the Yiddish classical heritage: Mendele Moykher-Sforim, Sholem-Aleichem, and Y. L. Perets. With separate articles he went on later to broader research work. For Sholem-Aleichem’s eightieth birthday, he penned two books [including Sholem-Aleykhem: Kritishe Etyudn].” (Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur)
OCLC: 19309760. OCLC locates only 3 copies worldwide (Harvard, HUC, UWisc-Madison).
Ex-library. Markings throughout. Good Condition. Scarce (PSB-1-46).
Price: $350.00