Abraham Regelson

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Abraham Regelson (1896-1981), Hebrew poet, author, children's author, translator, editor

Abraham Regelson was born in Hlusk, White Russia, in the year 1896, and died at his home in Neveh Monossohn in the year 1981.

Regelson immigrated as a child with his family to the U.S., when he was nine years old. He studied at a heder and public schools. He never finished formal studies, but was an auto-didact who spent many hours in libraries. At first he earned his livelihood as a librarian and Hebrew teacher, and began publishing his poetry, stories and translations in various Hebrew publications, both in America and in what was then early Jewish Palestine. His first aliya (immigration) to Eretz-Israel was in the year 1933. Employed by the daily newspaper "Davar", he was one of the founders of the children's weekly supplement "Davar l'Yladim", where his well-loved classic "Masa HaBubot l'Eretz-Yisrael" ("The Dolls' Journey to Eretz-Israel") was first published in installments. Three years later, after having lost an infant son, and with two of his older children endangered by malaria, he returned to the US with his family. There he earned his living by writing for the Yiddish press, while publishing several books containing his Hebrew poetry, legends and philosophical essays.

After Israel's establishment, he returned there in 1949. Appointed as an editor for the publishing house "Am Oved", he was also on the staff of the daily newspaper "Al HaMishmar", where he featured as a regular columnist. In 1962, he was awarded the Brenner Prize, and in 1972 was the recipient of the Bialik Prize for his literary work. In 1976 he won the Neuman Prize from NYU's Hebrew Department for his contribution to Hebrew literature.

Regelson's language is uniquely original, combining the old and the new in a captivatlng style. His innovative usages contributed to the rejuvenation of the Hebrew tongue. The influence of English literature added an appealing flavor to his work. He was a prolific translator and enriched Hebrew with many classics of English literature.

Many of Regelson's works have recently been made available to Internet viewers through The Ben-Yehuda Project website at http://www.benyehuda.org.