By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — The 14th season of Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices launched last Monday evening with an outstanding program that attracted 70 attendees on Zoom.
It opened with poetry read by local psychologist and poet, Richard Alan Schere. A sample of his offerings, Echo, can be read below. It is a poem that should be on the desks of all politicians as they contemplate their actions regarding climate change. Other Schere poems showed a lighter side with a fine-tuned sense of humor. Schere has made recordings and his work is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. We were fortunate to have such an accomplished poet open our series.
The mother-daughter team of Ruth Weber and Emelia Lopez-Yanez presented a performance video of poems written by Ruth’s immigrant grandmother Betty Karon Hertz, which they set to music. Mother and daughter are prize-winning song writers and Emelia possesses a beautiful, expressive voice, with excellent articulation. In addition, she is a fine professional oboist and that talent was well-utilized in the video performances, while her mother, Ruth, accompanied on keyboard and, in some instances, sang along. In addition, both women are attractive to watch and used enchanting settings and lovely costuming to enhance their presentations. Their album,” Songs Of An Immigrant”, is available via this website
Echo by Dr. Richard Alan Schere
Orbiting into disaster,
Person or planet, it matters not,
Hurtling faster and faster,
Person and planet were all we’ve got
And it’s getting too dark to remember
the truths that we already know
That the fires and the floods will dismember
the growths and the grains we need grow.
As the mountains get ready to tumble,
As the ice water melts and expands,
As the proud forests weaken and crumble,
As the oceans spill over the lands,
And as we fall deep into nowhere,
swallowed by infinite space,
An echo is all we’ll be hearing,
A guilt we will all have to face:
Sorry……sorry…..sorry…..
Should have…..should have…..should have…..
Sorry…..sorry…..sorry…..
But the worst thing we’ll have to take with us:
No children left to forgive us.
To access Ruth Weber and Emelia Lopez-Yanez’s song, I Have A Dream: https://youtu.be/2iC_59n4EVM
These were but samples of the creative works we were treated to last Monday evening. The Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices next program will again feature three local poets followed by a half hour of open mic. It will take place Monday evening, January 24, at 7 p.m. on Zoom and feature Elaine Moore, Martin Bobrowsky and Carla Berg.
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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com