About: Constantin Shapiro

Constantin Aleksandrovich Shapiro (Russian: Константин Александрович Шапиро, Hebrew: קוֹנְסְטַנְטִין אָלֶכְּסַנְדְרוֹבִיץ' שַׁפִּירָא; 1841 – 23 March 1900), born Asher ben Eliyahu Shapiro (Hebrew: אָשֵׁר בֶּן אֵלִיָּהוּ שַׁפִּירָא) and known by the pen name Abba Shapiro (Hebrew: אַבָּ״א שַׁפִּירָא), was a Hebrew lyric poet and photographer. Though he converted to Russian Orthodoxy at an early age, Shapiro nonetheless retained lifelong ties to Judaism, Zionism, and his mitnagedic roots, themes of which featured prominently in his poetry. He was described by Yeshurun Keshet as "a poet of the national legend, the first author of the ballad in Hebrew literature."