Esther Shumiatcher-Hirschbein

Esther Shumiatcher-Hirschbein (; ; October 21, 1899 – 1985) was a Belarusian-Canadian Yiddish-language poet and screenwriter active in New York City and Los Angeles.

Early life and family Shumiatcher was born Esther Shumiatcher (; ) on October 21, 1899 in Homyel, Gomel Governorate (present-day Belarus) to tenant farmers Judah Shumiatcher and Chasia Shumiatcher.

Career Hirschbein exposed Shumiatcher to the Yiddish literary community, which inspired her to start writing in Yiddish as well. The couple settled in New York, but traveled extensively around the world, going through places such as the South Pacific, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Shumiatcher wrote groundbreaking poems addressing pregnancy and motherhood following the birth of the couple's son in 1934. Shumiatcher moved to Los Angeles in 1940 where her husband had an offer to write film scripts, of which one was produced. Her husband died in 1948 from lateral sclerosis, after which Shumiatcher primarily gave lectures. She also wrote about widowhood and grief following her husband's death. Other themes reflected eros, nature, and politics. Although she did not write much after 1956, her later works are more highly regarded. Some of her poetry has been translated by Myra Mniewski.

She appears in Ezra Kerman's anthology of Yiddish female poets and is included among a group of Litvak women poets whom Dovid Katz credits with "building" Yiddish poetry outside Eastern Europe.

Personal life On May 15, 1958 Shumiatcher-Hirschbein became an naturalized American citizen.