Divrei Shir.

LETTERIS, MEIR (MAX)

Gerson Elijah Blaustein

Minsk

1832

Second edition.

Vinograd, Minsk 17

Born in Zolkiew in 1804, Letteris became the protige of Nachman Krochmal who introduced him to secular poetry and familiarized him with the works of the German poets. Despite a secular education, he remained loyal to the Hebrew language and throughout his life wrote poetry in Hebrew. Divrei Shir is his first collectrion of poetry and was first published with Krochmal’s financial support. The work contains Letteris’ original poems as well as translations of of popular German poets. His most popular poem, “Yonah Homiyah,” compares Israel to a dove that has been exiled from her nest for her sins, and was subsequently sung in Galicia and Lithuania for generations. The sentimental mood of Letteris’ poetry is a typical feature of the entire Haskalah movement of that era. Seven of the fourteen translated poems in this work are those of Friedrich Schiller. For a detailed analysis of Letteris’ poetic style and influences, see I Zinberg, vol. X, The Science of Judaism and Galician Haskalah (1977) pp. 113-119.