Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever’s death was overshadowed by the death of J.D. Salinger. The New York Times wrote about both; the New Yorker only wrote about Salinger, as far as I know. Sutzkever was 96 years old. He was born in Siberia, fought in the Vilna ghetto, and lived out his years in Israel writing his poetry in Yiddish. I did my own translation of a beautiful lyric of his, and if the right mood strikes me I may attach it to another post. Sutzkever was a wonderful poet and deserves to be read. Unfortunately, there is not a great deal available in English.

If your eyes can stand it, you can read some of it here.