Szymel, Maurycy (Mosze)

The Shy Hand of a Jew: Poems by Maurice (Mosze) Szymel Szymel, Maurycy (Mosze)

Marc Notes: A bilingual edition.; Dist. by SPD.; Polish and English on opposite pages. Contributor Bio:  Szymel, Maurycy (Mosze) Maurycy (Mosze) Szymel was born into a Jewish community in Lvov in 1903. He graduated from the Jewish Humanistic Gymnasium, and was first published in 1925 in Moments, Lvov's Polish-language Jewish newspaper. He published lyrics, children's poems, short stories, and plays, and became one of the most devoted co-workers of Moments, which published many Jewish poets, such as Juliusz Wit, Karol Dresdner, Anda Eker, Stefan Pomer, Artur Lauterbach, and Daniel Ihr. These were writers whose work expressed Jewish longings and praised the Jewish national soul "through a poet's words--through Polish words" as Roman Brandstaetter, one of the most well-known members of this movement, stated. Szymel's poetry explores the relationship between Jews and Poles, as well as other aspects of his life as a Jew living in Poland. His writing reveals a strong connection to Poland, often evoking the imagery of its landscape and countryside. Szymel lived the life of a gypsy poet and supported himself, with difficulty, by writing poetry, literary articles and criticism, weekly columns and translations from Yiddish. His name was well known in Polish circles in general as well as by readers of Polish-Jewish newspapers. Contributor Bio:  Gregorek, Aniela Aniela Gregorek and Jerzy Gregorek both hold MFAs in writing from Norwich University's Vermont College. Their poems and translations have appeared in numerous publications, including The American Poetry Review. In 1998, Aniela and Jerzy served as guest editors and translators for a special edition of Shirim: A Jewish Poetry Journal, subtitled Polish Jewish Poets between the Wars. They returned to Shirim in 2004 to edit another issue, subtitled The Poetry of Maurycy Szymel. In a Flash, one of their three co-translated books of Polish contemporary poetry, was a finalist for the PEN USA West 2001 Literary Award. Jerzy and Aniela live with their daughter, Natalie, in Woodside, California. Contributor Bio:  Gregorek, Jerzy Jerzy Gregorek immigrated to the United States together with his wife, Aniela, from Poland in 1986, as political refugees during the Solidarity Movement. An accomplished athlete, he subsequently won four World Weightlifting Championships and established one world record. In 2000, Jerzy and Aniela founded UCLA s weightlifting team, becoming its head coaches. As co-creator of The Happy Body Program, Jerzy has been mentoring people for more than 30 years, helping them attain a happy and healthy lifestyle. In 1998, Jerzy earned an MFA in writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. His poems and translations have appeared in numerous publications, including The American Poetry Review. His poem Family Tree was the winner of Amelia magazine s Charles William Duke Longpoem Award in 1998. In 2002, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Jerzy a literature fellowship to support the translation from Polish into English of selected poems by Maurycy Szymel. This culminated in the publication in 2013 of The Shy Hand of a Jew by Cross-Cultural Communications, which the following year published a collection of Jerzy s own poetry, entitled Sacred and Scared. A Healthy Mirror for Change: Nourishing an Appetite for Losing Weight, another volume of poetry, was also published in 2014. This latest book harnesses the power of the discovery of a series of internal dialogues, to help readers achieve important goals in the realm of health and fitness. This is accomplished first by understanding the tension and interplay between the voices of what are termed the Fatalist and the Master within all of us. Readers are then invited to first extend these dialogues into their own lives and subsequently to articulate other key scenarios in their lives that are playing themselves out along similar lines. Ultimately, by importing the critical message into these various scenarios, you enable the voice of the Master within you to triumph. Jerzy lives with his wife and their daughter in Woodside, California.