Autographed Poem: Mont Pelée

SHNEOUR, ZALMAN

Warsaw

(1902-3)

Hebrew. Aschkenazic cursive with nikud (vowel points). Signed “Z. Shneour”

This poem of seven stanzas celebrates Mont Pelée, a volcanic mountain on the French Caribbean island of Martinique. The poet conceives the volcano a powerful symbol of an ancient prophet biding his time to spew his long pent-up prophecy. The poem was precipitated by the dramatic eruption of Mont Pelée in 1902. Zalman Shneour (1887-1959), together with Bialik and Tchernichowsky, is considered to be one of the three great founding figures of modern Hebrew poetry. He was born in Shklov and was a descendent of R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad Chassidism. See EJ, Vol. XIV, cols. 1428-32