A. Almi

Eliyahu-Khayim Sheps (; January 2, 1892 – September 25, 1963), known primarily under the pseudonyms Eli Almi or A. Almi, was a Polish-born Jewish-American poet, journalist, essayist, and mystic, who wrote in both Yiddish and English. His work drew on philosophy, religion, occultism, satire, and lyric, and was often fantastical or dramatic in content and pathos.

On September 25, 1963, Sheps committed suicide. Isaac Bashevis Singer praised his mystic knowledge, comparing him to the likes of Hillel Zeitlin, who was also a friend.

Biography

Early life Eliyahu-Khayim Sheps was born on January 2, 1892 in Warsaw to father Shloyme Zalmen and Reyzl-Gitl Sheps. He was part of a poor Jewish family. Until the age of 10, he was educated in a cheder. In 1908, he moved to Kraków. On New Year's Day in 1913, a day before his 21st birthday, he immigrated to New York with the assistance of his only brother, Leyzer.

Career In 1907, Sheps published his first poem in the literary magazine Roman-tsaytung in Warsaw at the age of 15, where his earliest literary sponsor was I. L. Peretz. In 1908, he moved to Kraków, where Avrom Reyzen published some of his poems. By the age of 18, he became the editorial secretary for the widely read Yiddish newspaper Der moment , where he first contributed. Upon arriving in the United States, he was also a frequent contributor to the Forverts , Literarishe bleter , Fraye arbeter shtime , Der morgn zshurnal , Der tog , among others.

A spiritual study on the afterlife, his first book, Di tsveyte eksistents , was published in New York and Montreal in 1921. His first poetry collection, Bay di randn , was published in New York in 1923.

In 1962, a year before his death, a Festschrift on Sheps was published in Buenos Aires as part of a book series on Polish-Jewish life, featuring writings by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Avrom Reyzen, and other friends and writers.

In total, Sheps published 26 books: 13 volumes of essays comprising philosophical, scientific, artistic, and religious themes; six collections of poetry; three books of short stories and articles; two memoirs; one book of folktales in Polish; and one book of essays in Hebrew translation. He was drawn to works of, or on, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Henri Bergson, Zionism, and Taoist and Buddhist philosophy.

Sheps was a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the American Philosophical Association, and the Spinoza Institute of America. He was also a fellow at the International Institute of Arts and Letters.

In 2020, an English translation of one of Sheps' satirical short stories was published in Jewish Currents.

Personal life In 1929, Sheps' brother mysteriously disappeared from California.

One of his former love interests, Sarah Perle, also committed suicide due to the scandal of their illicit relationship.

Among his writerly friends were Isaac Bashevis Singer, Avrom Reyzen, Itzik Manger, and Morris Rosenfeld.