Konrad Bercovici

Konrad Bercovici (1882–1961) was an American writer.

Born in Romania, into a non-observing Jewish family, in 1882, Konrad Bercovici grew up chiefly in Galaţi. His family was polyglot, teaching their children Greek, Romanian, French and German, and they mixed freely with Greeks, Romanians, Russians, Turks, Jews, and Roma that moved throughout Dobrudja and the Danubian Delta region. According to his autobiography, Bercovici especially developed a close connection with local Roma through contact with his Roma nursemaid, her family, and the Roma with whom his father traded horses. The family remained in Romania until his father died from injuries sustained during anti-Semitic riots in Galaţi when Bercovici was 11.

After his father's death, most of the family emigrated to Paris. Konrad worked there during preparations for the 1900 World's Fair, and his education was influenced by witnessing public debates and recriminations surrounding the Dreyfus Affair. Bercovici went to the Université Populaire where he studied to be an organist. In Paris, he met his wife, the sculptor Naomi Librescu. Together, they emigrated to North America. After some time in Montréal, Canada, the family settled on the Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City. To make ends meet Bercovici worked in sweatshops, gave piano lessons, and played the organ for nickelodeons. He had begun his work as a writer as a journalist for a Yiddish paper in Montreal, but garnered attention when his first English-language book Crimes of Charity—with an introduction by John Reed—exposed controversial practices in private charities in New York City.

Bercovici continued to write articles as a journalist throughout his career, but became best known for his literary fiction that explored Gypsy themes. Stories like "Ghitza," and "The Bear Tamer's Daughter" established Bercovici as a peer of his contemporaries in the 1920s when he was often included in World's Best Short Fiction collections. Once his career as an author took off, Bercovici frequented the Hotel Algonquin. At this time, he and his wife Naomi became close friends with Paul Robeson and his wife Essie.

...
Wikipedia