Miriam Shomer Zunser (November 25, 1882 – October 11, 1951) was an American journalist, playwright and artist. She was a significant promoter of Jewish culture prior to World War II.[1]
Life
Shomer was born Manya Shaikevitsch in Odessa, Russian Empire, to Nokhem Mayer Shaikevitsch, a novelist and playwright, and his wife Dinneh Bercinsky. Her family emigrated in 1889 to New York. She was known by her nickname, Minnie.[2] After graduating high school she worked as a librarian while attending art classes taught by Henry McBride at the Educational Alliance.[1]
In the 1920s, Zunser began writing Yiddish theater, sometimes cowriting with her sister Rose. As Yiddish theater lost popularity in the 1930s, Zunser began writing in English for the Broadway stage.[2]
In 1932 Zunser was a co-founder and initial president of MAILAMM, the America-Palestine Institute of Musical Sciences (known by its Hebrew acronym), a society for the study and promotion of Jewish music in Palestine and the United States.[1][3] Later, she was treasurer of the Jewish Music Forum [d].[4]
^ abcdGoldstein, Eric L. "Zunser, Miriam Shomer". Jewish Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia (New York: Routledge, 1997), vol. 2, p. 1549-1550. Published online via Jewish Women's Archive. jwa.org. March 1, 2009.
