І. ARCHIVES OF THE WRITERS
Writers’ archives of the Center for Studies in History and Culture of East European Jewry contain original materials (manuscripts of writings, publications, letters, documents, and photos) of Jewish writers who started their careers during the Soviet era: Isaak Kipnis (1896–1974), Matvii Talalaievsky (1908–1978), Borys Khandros (1923– 2006), Mykhailo Pinchevsky (1894–1955), Dora Khaikina (1913–2006), Ikhil Falikman (1911–1977), Natan Zabara (1908–1975), Ryva Baliasna (1910–1980), Oleksandr Lizen (1911–2000), and Yosyp Bukhbinder (1908–1993). Needless to say, manuscripts of writings are the most valuable items in every writer’s archive. Some manuscripts are in multiple editions with authorial remarks. Today it is difficult to determine if all of these literary pieces have been printed. There is a great possibility that some of these works are still waiting to meet their readers. Hence this question requires a thorough investigation. Besides, even the writings that were published during the authors’ lifetimes had to undergo harsh censorship during the Soviet time. For example, it concerns Natan Zabara’s novel The Wheel Is Turning /גלגל החזר/ (known also as The Wheel of Eternity). A chain of text studies should be carried out to determine the degree of censorial and editorial interference in original authorial texts. Almost all those writers, except for Borys Khandros, wrote in Yiddish. That is why their archive legacy needs to be researched not only by literary scholars but also by Yiddish philologists. The writers’ archives of the Center store unique materials for scholars of Soviet Yiddish literature. Famous poets who wrote in Yiddish were Matvii Talalaievsky, Ryva Baliasna, Mykhailo Pinchevsky, 13
