Morris Rosenfeld Papers

Morris Rosenfeld (1862-1923) was born in the village of Boksze in the Suwalki district of Russian Poland. He grew up in Warsaw and Suwalki and was educated in the traditional kheder (talmudic academy). He pursued his talmudic studies in a yeshiva until several years after his marriage. He had three children with his wife Assna Beyle (Bessie): daughters Freidel (a.k.a. Freda or Iona) and Reizel, and son Joseph.

From 1882 to 1886 Rosenfeld traveled to Amsterdam, London and the United States. He lived for a time in London, where he worked as a tailor. There he became involved with an anarchist club and began writing labor poems, though these remained unpublished. In 1886 he moved to New York City, where he worked as a presser and a baster in Lower East Side sweatshops.

In 1888 Rosenfeld published his first collection of socialist poems, Di gloke (The Bell), which was followed by Di blumenkette (The Flower Wreath) in 1890. An excellent orator, Rosenfeld often recited his poems to enthusiastic audiences at socialist and union events, and later at large public readings and concerts. Over the next decades his reputation spread as the "poet laureate of labor." His songs were sung by workers in sweatshops, tenement houses, meetings and concerts.

In 1898, Harvard professor of Slavic Studies Leo Wiener translated Rosenfeld's Lider-bukh (The Book of Songs) into English with the title Songs from the Ghetto. The book's publication introduced Rosenfeld to the non-Jewish world and was instrumental in transforming him from an obscure local song writer into an established literary figure. His poems were subsequently translated into many European languages, including German, Hungarian, Polish, Rumanian and Russian. His works, known for their stark, realistic presentation of immigrant and sweatshop life, were the subject of many reviews and articles in literary journals throughout the world.

Although he was publicly honored at special jubilee celebrations featuring recitals and concerts at widely-attended mass rallies, Rosenfeld's career was marked by periods of obscurity, poverty, ill health and personal tragedy. After early publishing successes, for a time Rosenfeld tried to make a living as a writer. His talent spurred the interest and sympathy of philanthropists, but this support eventually faded and he was once again obliged to work in the sweatshop until increasing ill health forced him to give it up. Rosenfeld was deeply affected by the death of his son Joseph in 1905. The following year he himself was stricken with paralysis and incipient blindness, and was unable to work or write for a year while recovering. Journalists launched a sympathetic appeal for public aid, but their efforts were ineffective.

After recovering, Rosenfeld began to travel, giving public appearances, singing his songs, reciting his poetry and selling his books in order to make a living. In 1908 he undertook a successful tour of Europe. Although such tours increased his popularity, these type of appearances were not sufficient as a source of income.

During the last years of his life, Rosenfeld wrote little and almost disappeared from public view, having become a lonely man, embittered and discouraged. Alienated from the literary world, he had numerous conflicts with editors and other writers. Rosenfeld died of a stroke in 1923 at age 61. His funeral was attended by over 10,000 people.

Rosenfeld's most widely read writings were his collected works in six volumes, entitled Shriftn (Writings), 1908-1910; Geveylte shriftn (Selected Writings), 1912; and Dos bukh fun libe (The Book of Love), 1914.

In addition to poetry, Rosenfeld also wrote essays and articles on diverse topics, including current affairs, Jewish nationalism, Yiddish language and culture, labor issues, and nature. A contributor to numerous newspapers and periodicals, he wrote for the Folkstsaytung (New York), Arbeter fraynd (London), Arbeter tsaytung (New York), The Jewish Daily Forward (New York) and the Yidishes Tageblat (New York), among others. He also edited a humorous satirical weekly, Der ashmeday, and the daily New yorker morgnblat.