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KABAKOFF / INTRODUCTION
5
III
We are saddened by the deaths o f three people who were in
timately connected with work o f the Jewish Book Council and
its Annual. Harry Starr, who served as president and later chair
man and honorary chairman o f the Lucius N. Littauer Founda
tion, died on July 25, 1992, after Volume 50 was already in press.
He was a member o f the editorial advisory committee o f the An
nual for many years. Rabbi Isadore S. Meyer passed away on
September 8, 1992. A member o f our editorial advisory commit
tee, he had been the librarian o f the American Jewish Historical
Society and editor o f its journal
AmericanJewish History.
Dr. Hayim
Leaf, who had served as the editor o f the Hebrew section of
the Annual (1951) and continued to be active as the editor of
various American Hebrew publications, died on May 2, 1992.
I t is with deep reg re t tha t we record the passing in Israel
on Ju n e 5, 1993 o f the celebrated American Hebrew poet Ga
briel Preil. He had been on a visit there in connection with
the publication o f his collected verse by Mossad Bialik. T he re
cipient o f many awards and honors, including the prestigious
Bialik Prize in 1991, Preil was a unique figure on the literary
scene. A lthough he lived in America, he was widely respected
in Israel where he had considerable influence on his contem
poraries. He has often appeared in English translation and in
1985 the Jewish Publication Society published a bilingual edition
o f his poetry, entitled
Sunset Possibilities and Other Poems.
On the
occasion o f his 70th birthday, the re appeared in vol. 38
(1980-81) o f the Annual an article by Dr. Yael Feldman entitled
“Gabriel Preil: American Hebrew Poet.”
O u r profound thanks go to ou r contributors for enriching our
volume with their articles and studies and to our bibliographers
for providing us with their listings o f the literary output in Amer
ica, Europe and Israel. These listings cover broadly the period
between April 15, 1991 and April 15, 1992.
We again express ou r appreciation to the JCC Association for
sponsoring the activities o f the Jewish Book Council. We are
pleased to acknowledge the valued support o f the Lucius N.
Littauer Foundation and the contributions o f the Jacob and Hilda
Blaustein Foundation, the Morris J. and Betty Kaplun Founda
tion, the I. Edward Kiev Foundation, the Joseph Meyerhoff Fund
and the Irving and Bertha Neuman Foundation.