KHAYIM VASERKVAL

KHAYIM VASERKVAL (b. November 5, 1893)

            This was the pen name of V. Rubtshinski.  He was born in Skvire, Kiev district, Ukraine, to extremely poor parents.  Because of difficult economic conditionals, his family lost their home when he was young and moved to Prussia.  He graduated from a public school in Wiesbaden.  From 1909 he was living in England.  He was active in the Jewish anarchist movement.  He was a speaker and lecturer primarily on literature and philosophy.  He began writing—poetry and stories—as a youngster.  He debuted in print with an article, “Vilyam godvin, der foter fun filosofishn anarkhizm” (William Godwin, the father of philosophical anarchism), in Arbayter fraynd (Friend of labor), edited by Zalkind, in London (May 1920), and later he became an internal contributor to this newspaper and published articles, scholarly treatises, book reviews, and translations from English and German fiction.  He was the main contributor to Idishe post (Jewish mail) in London, and from 1920 to Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor) in New York, in which he published, among other items, essays on Thomas Hardy, Strindberg, and others.  He published as well under the pen name “H. Vilar.”

Source: Zalmen reyzen arkhiv (Archive of Zalmen Reyzen) (New York, YIVO).