Itzik MangerCentro di assistenza

Itzik Manger was born to a Jewish family in Chernivtsi, Bukovina, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Ukraine). His parents were Chava and Hillel Manger, a skilled tailor who loved literature, and he had two siblings. In 1921, he published his debut poem in the Yiddish journal Kultur, and his first collection of poems, Shtern Oyfn Dakh (Stars on the Roof), appeared in 1929. He lived in Bucharest, Romania for a few years, writing for the local Yiddish newspapers and giving occasional lectures on folklore. He made his literary reputation in Warsaw, Poland, where he lived from 1928 to 1938. His poetry, which was influenced by German Romanticism as well as modernism, was extremely popular Some of his poems were set to music, and others were adapted into stage plays. He also wrote numerous novels, essays, short stories, plays, and portions of a fictional autobiography. In 1938, Manger went to Paris to escape the Nazis and tried unsuccessful to emigrate to the British Mandate of Palestine and the USA. In 1940, he managed to flee to London, where he spent World War II. In 1951, he finally arrived in New York City, and then in 1967 went to Israel. His poems have been translated into Hebrew and many European languages, and new translations of his work continue to be published. His charming modern re-tellings of Biblical stories remain especially popular. In 1968, the Itzik Manger Prize for outstanding contributions to Yiddish literature was established in Israel, and is considered the most prestigious award in Yiddish letters.