Letter and Poem in the Hand of Yehudah Leib Gordon, 1891-1892

Letter and Poem in the Hand of Yehudah Leib Gordon, 1891-1892
* Lengthy letter from Shevat 1891 written by Y. L. Gordon to author Yitzchak Weisberg (1840-1903). Comments written on the letter by Yehoshua ben Chaim HaLevi Mazach (1834-1917), who was an "enlightened" author. Mazach received the letter from Weisberg for inclusion in the literary anthology he edited, Gan Perachim.
[1] folded leaf (three written leaves), 21.5 cm. Moderate-fine condition. Filing perforations with damage to text. Many stains, some of which are dark, with damage to text. Fold marks and wear.
* Manuscript of the poem "Tashlich!" dedicated to "one of my acquaintances, so that we will obligate ourselves in exile within the rest of the exiled of Israel, and arise and go to distant lands." Cheshvan, 1891. The poem deals with emigration of Jews from Russia and also mentions "America, Brazil, Argentina" as possible places of refuge, an idea YL"G expressed about ten years previously in his poem "Achoti Ruchamah," in which he called for emigration of Jews from Russia to America.
[1] leaf written on both sides, 22 cm. 
Moderate-fine condition. Filing perforations, stains, erasures, pasted pieces of paper, with copy editing corrections and comments.
Yehudah Leib Gordon [1830-1892] was one of the leading Hebrew poets during the period of the enlightenment. His creations included original and translated poems, proverbs, feuilletons, stories and research articles and critiques. He was born in Vilna in 1830 and during his childhood he studied in "cheder" and acquired broad knowledge of Tana"ch and Talmud. He was drawn to the 'enlightenment" movement during his youth, and he began to read general books, study foreign languages and became friendly with some of the major maskilim of his period, who greatly influenced him. He worked as a teacher at schools in Ponovezh, Shavli and Telz for twenty years. When he became famous as a poet, he was invited to St. Petersberg in 1872 to serve as community secretary and administrator of the "Mefitzei Haskalah B'Yisrael" company. He would often write in the HaMelitz journal and was one of of the editors of HaMaggid. He passed away in St. Petersberg in 1892.