Yitzhak Lamdan (1899-1954) was born in Mlinov, the Ukraine, and received both a traditional Jewish and a secular education. During World War I he was cut off from his parents and wandered through southern Russia with his brother, who was later killed in a pogrom. Lamdan embraced the communist cause and volunteered for the Red Army at the outbreak of the Russian Revolution. In 1918 he left the army and returned to Mlinov, where he taught Hebrew and published his first poem in Hashiloah. In 1920 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and spent his first years in the country paving roads and working on farms. His poetry, inspired by those experiences, was published in various literary journals and aroused great interest. From 1934 on, he devoted himself exclusively to literary work, publishing and editing his own literary monthly, Gilyonot. Lamdan was a member of the central committee of the Hebrew Writers' Association for many years.
Books Published in Hebrew
Massada (poetry), Hedim, 1927 [Metzada]
In the Threefold Harness (poetry), Berlin-Stybel, 1930 [Ba-Ritmah Ha-Meshuleshet]
From the Book of Days (poetry), Gilyonot, 1940 [Mi-Sefer Hayamim]
Two Camps, Gilyonot, 1944 [Mahanayim]
On Scorpions' Ascent (poetry), Bialik Institute, 1945 [Ma'aleh Akravim]
A Treasure of Chances (children), M. Newman, 1950 [Otzar Shel Mazalot]
Collected Poems of Yitzhak Lamdan, Bialik Institute, 1973 [Kol Shirei Yitzhak Lamdan]
Selected Letters of Yitzhak Lamdan, New York/ Tel Aviv:
Israel Matz Foundation, Genazim, The Hebrew Writers Association, 1998 [Igrot Yitzhak Lamdan]
Yitzhak Lamdan's Diary, Bar-Ilan University, 2015 [Yoman Yitzhak Lamdan: 1914-1924]