Negotiating Jewish Canadian Identity Montreal Yiddish Literary ...

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42 ♦ Rebecca MargolisFenton Johnson reflects a broader interest in addressing the African-Americanexperience in America. 37 Heftn displays a more inclusive character than theseries of contemporaneous short-lived proletarian literary journals that appearedin Toronto—Basheydn (Modest, 1930), In gevirbl (In a Whirl, 1930),Bay undz (Among Us, 1931)—all three of which featured the “New Guard”writers and attempted to create new literary and cultural forums for the moreradical leftist elements of the Yiddish immigrant masses.The longest-running of the Canadian journals, Montreol: literarisher khoydesh-zhurnal(Montreal: A Literary Monthly Journal, 1932–1935, 12 issues)reflects a stability missing from the previous Canadian journals, with a steadygroup of contributors and a strong community presence. In the opening number,co-editor Gotlib discusses the rationale behind its birth, in particular inthe midst of the Depression. Not long ago, he writes, Montreal bubbled withYiddish literary activity and served as the Canadian center for Yiddish writersand poets; it published literary journals and encouraged young writers.With the onset of hard times, Montreal has been silenced, with an increasingindifference to Yiddish literature alongside a general mood of cynicism.The appearance of a new journal is a response to this pessimism and apathy.The editors, Gotlib and Shkolnikov, align Montreol with new, high-qualityYiddish literature, albeit with mixed results. 38 Montreol is the most ideologicallyeclectic and inclusive of the Yiddish journals, which helps to account forits long life. The New York modernist Yiddish writers and poets, notably DiYunge, are well represented in Montreol. At the same time, Montreol expressesan affinity with leftist trends within Yiddish literature as well as with contemporarySoviet culture. Commenting on Proletpen’s Signal journal (founded1932), Shkolnikov writes, “the Yiddish proletariat is currently the most livelyelement in our communal life.” Gotlib likewise identifies America with thepast and Soviet reality with the present in his essay “Nekhtn un haynt” (Yesterdayand Today), while Detroit writer Ezra Korman provides numerousYiddish translations of popular renegade Russian poet Sergei AleksandrovichEsenin. However, despite its leftist leanings, with the exception of SholemShtern, none of the “New Guard” group of Communist-minded young writ-37See Merle Lyn Bachman, “American Yiddish Poetry’s Encounter with Black America,”Shofar, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2002): 3–24.38Leonard Prager writes: “This somewhat amateurish journal of verse and prose islargely a local product. In literature it leans toward the populist-proletarian style favored byleftists in the thirties” (Prager, Yiddish Literary and Linguistic Periodicals, p. 116).Shofar ♦ An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies
Negotiating Jewish Canadian Identity ♦ 43ers featured in the Baginen anthology or Toronto proletarian journals appearin Montreol.In addition to offering literary fare, Montreol functioned as a hub of localliterary and cultural activity. The publication of Yudika’s volume of verse,Vandervegn (Wandering Roads, 1934) provides insight into this expandedrole: Montreol announced the book’s appearance along with the literary andmusical evening organized in honor of the occasion (no. 7, March 1934), whileIda Maza reviewed it in the subsequent issue (no. 8, June 1934). Moreover,Vandervegn was published by “Di shrayber grupe ‘montreol’ (The MontreolWriters’ Group),” a group that was sponsored by the Montreol journal. The“Notitsn” or “Rezonansn” that conclude each issue highlight and promote localliterary and communal activity: Yiddish books in progress, new projects, artexhibits and concerts, special events, and observations on the state of the literaryscene. For example, the seventh issue announces literary guests includingscholar and historian Hayim Shoys, writer Lamed Shapiro, and Poale Zionactivist Moshe Erem, while the ninth announces celebrations to mark thetwentieth anniversary of Montreal’s Jewish Public Library, an exhibition by localpainter Alexander Bercovitch, and a concert by local poet Shloyme Shmulevitch.The strong sense of community that sprang up around Montreol isevidenced by the lectures on literary topics in honor of its appearance held byGotlib and Shkolnikov, as well as a banquet and evening of poetry organizedby its supporters (no. 5, November 1934). Moreover, consecutive issues in1934 (nos. 6–9) announce a series of “Montreol”-ovntn (“Montreol” Evenings),monthly literary and artistic events organized through “Di shrayber grupe‘Montreol’.” During these popular evenings, which took place in the homes oflocal poets, local writers and artists read from their writing, listened to musicalperformances, and sang together. The organizers expressed the hope that,with their continued success and popularity, these evenings would become apermanent fixture in the city.Montreol occupied a central place in Montreal Yiddish literary life in the1930s. The journal filled an important function in publishing and disseminatingthe writing of the Montreal Yiddish writers. Furthermore, it reflectsa maturation of the local literary milieu, with an enduring run that requireda stability that had previously been absent. The literary events reported in itspages indicate a core community of writers and artists who grouped themselvesaround the journal. Whether despite, or due to, the difficult economicsituation brought on by the Depression, Montreol brought together writersand artists, both in print and face-to-face.In contrast to Montreol, a single volume of Prolit: literarisher zhurnal aroysgegebnfun di yidishe proletarishe shrayber krayzn in kanade (Prolit: LiteraryVol. 27, No. 4 ♦ 2009
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