Jacob Marinoff

Jacob Marinoff (Yiddish: יעקב מארינאװ; 3 December 1869 – 27 October 1964) was an American Yiddish publisher and author from Odesa. He was one of the founders of New York satirical weekly Der Groyser Kundes ("The Big Stick"). He published three volumes of verse, and co-edited a satire collection.

Early life

Marinoff was born on 3 December 1869 in Odesa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), where he received a traditional Jewish education. He arrived in England in 1891, and immigrated to the United States two years later.

Jewish Consumptive Relief Society

Marinoff was part of the early fundraising efforts of the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS), which ran a tuberculosis sanatorium in Colorado. While based in New York, he collected money from Jewish fraternal orders, unions, ladies' auxiliaries, and more. Marinoff was also involved in The Sanatorium, a journal from the JCRS Press and Propaganda Committee that included reports from the JCRS, medical advice, human interest stories, poetry, and literature. One copy of The Sanatorium lists Marinoff as "Superintendent."

Humor and poetry

In 1909, Marinoff co-founded the Yiddish satirical weekly The Big Stick with Joseph Tunkel. He took over the magazine entirely after Tunkel moved to Warsaw, and continued to run it until the magazine folded in 1927.

Beyond The Big Stick, Marinoff was the editor of Humor and Satire, a three-volume collection published in 1912. He wrote three volumes of poetry: Shpil un Kamp (Play and Fight) in 1938; and Mir Veln Zayn (We Will Be) and Shtark un Munter (Strong and Courageous) 1947.

Personal life

Marinoff's sister was actress Fania Marinoff, and his brother-in-law was Harlem Renaissance novelist Carl Van Vechten. He died on 27 October 1964 at age 94 at Workmen's Circle Home for the Aged in the Bronx.