Occupation Writer Spouse Peretz Hirschbein | Language Yiddish, English | |
Died 1985, New York City, New York, United States | ||
Esther Shumaitcher-Hirschbein was a Canadian Yiddish poet and screenwriter.
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Early life
Shumaitcher was born in 1985 in Gomel to parents Judah and Chaisa as one of eleven siblings. She and her family emigrated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1911. All members of the family worked to support the household, and also had boarders in their house. Shumaitcher worked as a waitress and at a meat packing plant until 1918, when she met and married Peretz Hirschbein, a New York Yiddish playwright, when he was on tour in Calgary.
Career
Peter exposed Shumaitcher to the Yiddish literary community, which inspired her to start writing in Yiddish as well. Shumaitcher settled in New York with her husband, but traveled extensively around the world, going through places such as the South Pacific, Asia and Eastern Europe. Shumaitcher had her son Omus in 1934 in New York. He would grow to become a prominent concert producer. Shumaitcher moved to Los Angeles in 1940 where she had an offer to write film scripts, of which one was produced. Her husband died in 1948 from lateral sclerosis, after which Shumaitcher primarily gave lectures. She eventually moved back to New York, and died in 1985.
Shumaitcher wrote groundbreaking poems addressing pregnancy and motherhood following the birth of Omus. She also wrote about widowhood and grief following her husband's death. Other themes reflected eros, nature, and politics. Although she did not write much after 1956, her later works are more highly regarded. Some of her poetry has been translated by Myra Mniewski.