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Literarishe Bleter

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The Literarishe Bleter (Yiddish: ⁨ליטערארישע בלעטער⁩⁩, lit. 'Literary Pages') was a Yiddish weekly periodical published in Warsaw from 1924 to 1939.

History

Background and creation

In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the Russian Empire's restrictions on the use of the Yiddish language were lifted, leading to a florishing of Yiddish arts, literature, and culture within the Pale of Settlement. The Czernowitz Conference of 1908 proclaimed Yiddish a Jewish national language, leading to the emergence of the Yiddishist movement, opposed to linguistic assimilationism and the Hebraist movement.

In Warsaw, the capital of Russian Poland, an informal community of Yiddish writers emerged, initially centered around the home of playwright I. L. Peretz. In 1924, the publication of the Polish literary journal Wiadomości Literackie [pl] inspired Yiddish writers to pursue their own literary journal.

Publication

In March 1925 (at the paper's 44th issue), publisher Boris Kletskin purchased the periodical after moving from Vilnius to Warsaw. Mayzel became the paper's editor-in-chief. In an effort to increase circulation, the paper cooperated with YIVO and the Warsaw Yiddish PEN club, publishing their bulletins alongside the paper.

The Kletskin press went bankrupt in 1935, rendering the Bleter once again self-published. The editorial staff soon founded their own small publishing house. Following its independence and increasing economic worries throughout the 1930s, the paper turned to fundraising campaigns. These were only marginally effective; on June 30, 1939, the paper published its final issue. The end of the paper seemingly came as a surprise, as no information was released about the folding of the paper.

Content

The weekly issues of the Literarishe Bleter ranged in pages; for its first year and a half, it was a 6–8 page broadsheet. After issue 66, this was changed to a smaller format paper of 16 to 24 pages. A bound indexed volume was produced every year, and were commonly held at Yiddish libraries. The paper featured creative works, reviews, and coverage of recent literary events. Its content was focused on Yiddish literature and culture, it also included coverage of broader literary developments in Europe, including interviews with authors. Editorials covering Yiddish cultural issues were common throughout the paper.

The paper was a strong promoter of Yiddish books and literature, with various publishing houses advertising their catalogues in the paper. Discussions on the marketing and publishing of Yiddish literature were commonly ran in the paper. The paper occasionally included supplementary issues featuring translations of foreign literature. Between 1932 and 1933, the paper ran a series of special issues on Yiddish culture and literature outside of the main regions of settlement, including installments covering Germany, Galicia, Vilna, and Argentina.

Politics

Although the editorship of the Bleter was largely seen as as pro-Communist by the broader Jewish community in Poland, they criticized the Bund and related socialist movements. This politically isolated the paper, likely preventing it from cooperation with Bundist organizations.

References

  1. Geller 2013, pp. 59–61.
  2. Beeri 2013, pp. 60–61.
  3. ^ Novershtern.
  4. ^ Cohen.

Bibliography