Fonds 1081 - Noah Gotlib Fonds

Born in 1901 in Kovno, Lithuania, Noah Gotlib is remembered as a talented poet, writer and journalist, an individual who spoke to many through his multitude of work. Gotlib, whose father was the head of a Hassidic yeshiva, was educated in both traditional Jewish and secular schools. Gotlib also studied for and received his teaching diploma from a Soviet Normal School.

Gotlib's earliest poetry was in Hebrew but he soon took to writing in Yiddish. This writing included lyric poetry and prose, essays, literary criticism and articles. His immigration to Montreal in 1930 was helped in part by the sponsorship of a man he had never met but who admired Gotlib's poetry: the poet and brother of Yaakov Zipper, Sholem Shtern. Gotlib was quickly engrossed in the booming literary world of Yiddish Montreal by becoming a regular contributor to the Keneder Adler. The newspaper printed his articles as well as a semi-daily journal published under the pseudonym "H. Yudelevitch". His first collection of poetry was published in 1931 in Montreal and thereafter Gotlib published books of poetry almost continuously until his death in 1967.

Gotlib is the author of twelve volumes of poetry, prose and essays. He contributed over 2,000 short stories to the Keneder Adler and wrote hundreds of articles on literature and Jewish and Hebrew culture in various journals. He was associated with the Keneder Adler for 35 years, was a leader in the Halutzim movement in Lithuania, secretary of the Jewish Writers Association in Montreal, and secretary of the Lithuanian Farband until his death on August 8, 1967.