Joseph Bovshover
Native nameיוסף באָװשאָװער
Other namesBasil Dahl, M. Turbov
Occupation
  • Poet
  • essayist
  • translator
MovementAnarcho-communism
Birth dateSeptember 30, 1873
Birth placeLyubavichi, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire
Death dateDecember 25, 1915 (aged 42)
Death placePoughkeepsie, New York, U.S.

Joseph Bovshover (Yiddish: יוסף באָװשאָװער; September 30, 1873 – December 25, 1915), also known under pseudonyms Basil Dahl and M. Turbov, was a Yiddish poet, essayist, and translator of Russian-Jewish descent. Emma Goldman described him in her autobiography Living My Life as being a "high-strung and impulsive man of exceptional poetic gifts."[1]

Bovshover left his home in Lyubavichi for Riga at a young age, where he studied German and became interested in the work of Heinrich Heine. At 18 years of age, Bovshover immigrated to the United States, where he established a place in the American anarchist movement.[2]

While initially inspired by other "sweatshop poets" such as Morris Rosenfeld and David Edelstadt, Bovshover later developed his own unique style influenced by American poets like Walt Whitman.[2]

Selected works

  • Poetishe verk (Yiddish: פּאָעטישע װערק; "Poetic works") (1903)
  • Lider un gedikhte (Yiddish: לידער און געדיכטע; "Songs and poems") (1907)
  • Bilder un gedanken (Yiddish: בילדער און געדאַנקען; "Pictures and ideas") (1907)
  • Gezamlte shriftn: poezye un proze (Yiddish: געזאַמלטע שריפֿטן׃ פּאָעזיע און פּראָזע; "Collected writings: poetry and prose") (1911, reprinted in 1916)
  • Shaylok (1911–1912)
  • Geklibene lider (Yiddish: געקליבענע לידער; "Collected poems") (1918 and 1931)
  • To the Toilers and Other Verses (1928)
  • Lider (Yiddish: לידער; "Poems") (1930)
  • Lider un dertseylungen (Yiddish: לידער און דערצײלונגען; "Poems and stories") (1939)

References

  1. ^ "Living My Life/Volume 1". Wikisource. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Joseph Bovshover". Yiddishkayt. Retrieved 2026-05-21.

Further reading