Moyshe-Leyb Halpern (1886-1932) has been called the most ferocious and original, and possibly the greatest, of the Yiddish poets. He was also a notable visual artist. Dislocation and poverty dominated his life. He was born in Zlochev and died in New York. A selection of Halpern’s poems, translated and edited by Kathryn Hellerstein, is published by the Jewish Publications Society. (updated 1989)