Gabriel Preil was born in Tartu, Livonia, Russian Empire in 1911, but was raised in Krakės, Kovno until his father died. He then moved with his mother to the United States in 1922. Though primarily influenced by Yiddish poets of the Inzikh movement, Preil's influence extends to younger Israeli poets, and Israelis were his primary audience. Preil lived with his mother and step-father in the Bronx, NY, until their deaths. In 1975, he received on honorary Doctorate of Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College. Preil died in Jerusalem on June 5, 1993 while visiting on a book tour.
Poems
Many of Preil's poems focus on New York city, Maine, and his grandfather, a rabbi, who lived in Lithuania and wrote for Hamelitz. One of his poems is dedicated to the Israeli poet Leah Goldberg: "Leah's Absence". Another references Abraham Mapu; others, Jacob Glatstein and Mendele Mocher Sforim. Feldman writes of Preil's Yiddish and American atmosphere, "One could say that Preil's life and art are a manifestation of two diametrically opposite movements: His physical biography led him further away from Israeli soil, but, through his artistic activity, he tenaciously bridged the distance and successfully approached the contemporary sources of his poetic medium. In order to do this, he had to cross two language barriers: Yiddish, his Europeanmother tongue, which continued to be the language spoken at home throughout his life, and English, the language he acquired in his new home-country and which soon became a rich literary source for young Preil, the avid reader." The following is a translation of a Preil poem that appeared in Hebrew in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Achronoth in 1981: like feathers years plucked like feathers but I won't exaggerate: the romantic houses didn't lose the intoxicating image from hovering were only made more balanced cool headed thinkers in the course of a lengthy conversation without superfluous surprises you're not piping the flute of praises the modern painting slides into old hues the modern structure designs the old form and you yourself – a man pallid as paper naked as snow breathing very summerly
