Baruch Glasman

Baruch Glasman was a prominent Yiddish novelist, short story writer, and essayist, born in 1893 in Kapitkevichi, a small town in the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire. His family background was rooted in craftsmanship, and he spent his early years studying at yeshivas and a gymnasium before moving to Kyiv in 1906. Glasman's life took a significant turn in 1911 when he emigrated to the United States, where he worked various jobs, including factory work and house painting, while attending night school to further his education.

Glasman's literary career gained momentum with his first published works in 1913, and he went on to become a regular contributor to major American and European newspapers and magazines. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1918 and served in the U.S. Army from 1918 to 1919. Glasman's experiences and observations of Jewish life in America formed the core of his writing, which often explored the social contradictions and cultural intersections faced by Jewish emigrants. He traveled extensively, including a notable visit to the USSR in 1924, and spent time in Poland lecturing on Yiddish literature. Glasman continued to write in both Yiddish and English until his death in 1945, leaving behind a body of work that remains significant in the context of American-Jewish literature.