Anzia Yezierska
circa 1883 – 22 November 1970
Birthplace: Mały Płock, Congress Poland, Russian Empire [Today: Mały Płock, Poland]
Polish-American author, critic & translator
“As one of the dumb, voiceless ones I speak. One of the millions of immigrants beating, beating out their hearts at your gates for a breath of understanding.”
~Anzia Yezierska, Polish-American author
“American and I” (February 1922) Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. LXXI, No. 2; in Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. LXXI, January – June 1922, New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, p. 157, column 1; online via University of Michigan & Google Books, books.google.com
Extended excerpt [First lines of essay]:
“As one of the dumb, voiceless ones I speak. One of the millions of immigrants beating, beating out their hearts at your gates for a breath of understanding.
Ach! America! From the other end of the earth from where I come, America was a land of living hope, woven of dreams, aflame with longing and desire.” (p. 157, column 1)
Source link: Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. LXXI (1922) online via Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=QAcwAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=As+one+of+the+dumb,+voiceless+ones+I+speak
“If I had never met him I would have dreamed him into being.”
~Anzia Yezierska, Polish-American author
Red Ribbon on a White Horse (1950) New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, p. 113
Source: Library – Red Ribbon on a White Horse (1950) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 1345647
“When I only begin to read, I forget I’m on this world. It lifts me on wings with high thoughts.”
~Anzia Yezierska, Polish-American author
“Wings” (1920) Hungry Hearts, New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap, p. 7; online via University of California Libraries & Internet Archive, www.archive.org
Extended excerpt [Fictional dialogue – character ‘Shenah Pessah’ to ‘John Barnes’]:
“I got yet a lot of luck. I learned myself English from a Jewish English reader, and one of the boarders left me a grand book. When I only begin to read, I forget I’m on this world. It lifts me on wings with high thoughts.” Her whole face and figure lit up with animation as she poured herself out to him.” (p. 7)
Source link: Hungry Hearts (1920) online via Internet Archive: https://archive.org/stream/hungryhearts00yeziiala?ref=ol#page/n5/mode/2up/search/when+i+only+begin
Misattributed to Anzia Yezierska –
“Science has salvaged scrap metal and even found vitamins and valuable oils in refuse, but old people are extravagantly wasted.”
~Unnamed New York psychologist
Cited by author and ‘workshop on aging’ organizer & participant Anzia Yezierska in “A Thousand Pages of Research” (June 1963) Commentary, Vol. 36, 1 July 1963, New York, NY: American Jewish Committee, p. 61; online via Commentary magazine, www.commentarymagazine.com
Misattribution notes:
While attribution credit is often given to author Anzia Yezierska, she credits an un-named man for the “Science has salvaged scrap metal…” comment in her Commentary essay. Please see our “Citation” and “Source Link” tabs for additional information.
Citation note: A few sources have incorrectly cited Yezierska’s article title as “One Thousand Pages of Research.”
The correct title: “A Thousand Pages of Research”
Extended excerpt: [Essay. Yezierska refers to the man she is quoting as “Professor Sidney Stone,” but is clear in her text that this is a pseudonym. She notes in the article that he is a psychologist “who specialized in the ‘learning abilities of adults.’”]:
“He leaned back in his chair, stroking his lapels. “Many approaches have been made to the problem of aging, but this discussion group is unique. It is to be a study of the old by the old. It is something to meet a new need of our time. Science has salvaged scrap metal and even found vitamins and valuable oils in refuse, but old people are extravagantly wasted.” (p. 61)
Source link: “A Thousand Pages of Research” (1 July 1963) online via Commentary magazine: https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/a-thousand-pages-of-research/
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