My Jewish-photography and book passions were rewarded, once again, last week. I was able to get a copy of Poyln: Jewish Life in the Old Country, by Alter Kacyzne.

I have been completely mesmerized by the incredible photographs appearing in Poyln that were taken by Kacyzne He was on assignment in 1921 for the New York Yiddish Daily, Forverts (now known as The Jewish Daily Forward). Over a ten-year period he documented Jewish life in Poyln, like most of us have not seen it before. The incredible photographs take us back through the time continuum, and through the history of Jewish life in Poland.

The book moves the reader to tears, as they move through the photographic journey of a time and place of the past.

“Candid and intimate, tender and humorous, Kacyzne’s portraits– of teeming village squares and primitive workshops, cattle markets and spinning wheels, prayer groups and summer camps– tell the story of a way of life that is no more.
For the last sixty years, Kacyzne’s “Forverts photographs– the sole fragment of his vast archive to survive World War II– lay unseen. Now the work of this lost master is restored to the world in a volume of extraordinary force and beauty”. This blurb is a copyright of, and was taken from, the National Yiddish Book Center website.

I have read Poyln from front cover to back cover, and over again. I keep gravitating back to it, and can not get the beautiful and poignant journey that Kacyzne undertook out of my thoughts. The visuals are compelling and filled with high impact, and evoke emotional responses from the viewer. Kacyzne’s work is a tribute to his determination and humanitarian efforts in documenting Jewish Life. It was obviously a labor of love, and the photographs demonstrate that, and they speak volumes, as the silence resounds through the pages.

Poyln, by Alter Kacyzne is on display on my table of Jewish-related photographic books that detail Jewish life in Eastern Europe. This particular table holds only those genre of books. Guests can see the books when they walk through my front door, as the table is in a corner setting, with lamp, chair, candles, soft chimes, teapot, cup and saucer, and ancestral photos on the wall above. My visitor’s eyes are immediately drawn to the serene setting arrangement, in an environment of solitude. I have had friends come over just to pour through and peruse the books.

Poyln is a must-read and must-have book, and belongs in every Jewish house.
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Jew Wishes…Peace to you all.
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Thursday January 8, 2009 – 12th of Tevet 5769