Y. L. Teller

Y. L. Teller was a prominent American Yiddish poet and journalist known for his work that captured the turbulence of his era. Initially, Teller wrote in a dreamy, Symbolist style, evident in his early books Simboln (1930) and Minyaturn (1934). However, his career as a journalist for publications like Der morgnzhurnal influenced his poetry, leading to a more direct engagement with political events. His volume Lider fun der tsayt (1940) confronts contemporary political realities, including the Nazi occupation of Vienna. A notable cycle of poems, "Psychoanalysis," imaginatively places figures like Jud Süss Oppenheimer in dialogue with Sigmund Freud in response to Nazism.1