The Denver Jewish news., 1919-08-13
PERETz. THE STORY TELLER.

Leon l'eretZ, OF 1ltSchok Leipuseh
Peretz. as he proudly preferred>to be
called, was born in ZamOszcZ. Poland.
in the year 1851. Up to the age OF
thirteen he was educated under the
guidance of the best teachers in Fam
oszcz. After .that he was self-taught,
In Zamoszcz, PeretZ had the oppor-
tmity of mingling with the Yeshivah
students and he eagerly studied their
ideals and mannerisms. At the same
time. he dclved into the lore of the old
Jewish philosophers, such as Maim-
onedes and Khabari.
BY chance lie came across Il large
| library of books in various languages
which proved to be no small element
in his mental development In his
town there had lived surgeons as
sistant, who on becoming rich, had
collected II library of books covering
! numerous subjects and numbering
nearly three thousand volumes. Then
i he became the victim of reverses and
his books were stored away pell nell
in the loft. Peretz somehow got hold
IF the key to that room. and without
much choosing took to reading every
"ne of those three thousand books.
He learned German thru IL work on
physics which lie discovered in the
loft, Then lie passed on to science, TO
Heine, shelley. and concluded by be-
coming II mystic.
This story of his education is also
the history of his genius. There Is
\ reflected in 1t the subtleness of the
/ .rulmud the wisdom of the ancients.
|i the sparkle of Heine. the transcendcncy
mann.
\ And all the knowledge lie received.
he desired to impnrt to others. Even
4 IN childhood he was fond of writ
/ ing. but 1t was not until his twenty
fifth year that he wrote complete an1
finished stories.
| Peretz's PrOtege-Yitldish
At that time, the career of the Yid
dish writer was even more throny than
1t is at present and Peretz worked
practically for himself The mass Of
the Jewish nation never read his
works. All his thoughts and feelings
he poured forth on paper with hardly
u glimmering of hope that any other
than his nearest friends would read
them. Even when later Jewish news
lmpers appeared, Peretz because Of his
honest conscience and convictions.
could not work for them.
| The true artist looks upon his work
US holy duty. He knows that SOonc"
or later sincerity will drive away the
black faces of the literary chimney
sweeps. He consequently prepares
himself SO that at the right moment.
he is able to come forth at his ma
tiOn's call with the right stuff" ns
they might say in the Kibetzarnes,
I'eretz was always prepared. No soon
ei did need arise. than he opened
shelves laden with literary gems: no
| was IL IeN i'i ~
dish started. no sooner did a few writ
crs advocate the furtherance of the
''Volksprache," than Peretz undertook
the work with heart and soul. Thru
Peret's efforts were published Die
Yiddische Bibliothek." .Literatur und
I.ebcn," and "Bletlech."
| For various reasons. all these pubi-
cations were short-lived. Peretz again
became silent But in the privacy of
lis study he worked increasingly, wait
ing for brighter days when he would be
able to express his thoughts frankly
and freely to his readers. In the
newspaper "Yud" where re again had
the opportunity to develop and nourish
the taste and feelings of the nation, he
appeared in nearly every issue.
PeretZ made every effort not to re-
inain the one and only one to appeal
10 the masses of the nation with his
art. He surrounded himself with
coterie of young talents, and exerted
his influence over them with his spirit
and his own accomplishments.
For the great stride forward in Yid-
dish literature, for the fine place il
now holds in Jewish life, for artistic
work in Yiddish accomplished for the
improvement in the jargon itself. Yits-
chok Leibusch Peretz's is responsible
The Tools of the Artist.
Peretz used jargon as the medium
Of his art to reach the heart of th"