Nahum Cohen was raised in Nikopol where he attended the local kheder, afterwards studying at the gymnasium in Kherson. He then pursued studies at the Kharkov Veterinary Institute [uk], but left after falling ill with a nervous system disorder and being admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Upon his release, he briefly returned to his hometown and established a school there.[1]
His health continued to deteriorate, resulting in a lung disease. In 1888 he relocated to Crimea, where he worked as a private teacher and contributed to various local periodicals, especially to the Krym and Krymski Vyestnik.[1] His acclaimed ghetto story, V Glukhom Myestechkye ('In a Dull Townlet'), published first in Vestnik Evropy (November 1892), would later appear also in book form (Moscow, 1895).
He died in Yekaterinoslav in 1893 at the age of 29.
