Poems, Songs of Inge Strusberg, Ehud Manor to be Featured Nov. 19 at JCC

Poet Inge Strusberg was brought to the attention of the Jewish Poets–Jewish Voices Committee by Peruvian native, July Galper, who translated her poems into English and will be relating Strusberg’s biographical information as well as reading two of her selections in both Spanish and English.

Other readers of Strusberg’s poetry in its original Spanish will be Mexican native and director of the Jacobs Center for Innovation at USD, Perla Myers; Mexican natives, David Chait and  Sylvia Rosenthal; and Panamanian native, Gary Hirschfeld. English readers will be Jewish Poets–Jewish Voices committee members, Jane Zeer, Phyllis Schwartz, Lisa Schwartz as well as, Eli Meltzer, former president of the Lawrence Family JCC.

Inge Strusberg was born in 1922 and grew up in Berlin where she studied voice at the Berlin Conservatory. The Nazi rise to power cut off her studies and she and her parents were able to escape on one of the last available ships leaving Germany and settle in Peru. She felt welcomed and appreciated in her adopted country. She was once even asked to read her poetry for the Pope when he visited. In Peru, she married and had a son. She died in 2014.

Ehud Manor lived in Binyamina, Israel, and was a neighbor of Geula Hebron, Hebrew teacher at the San Diego Torah High School. Hebron will be reading two of Manor’s poems in Hebrew. Guri Stark, co-chair of this event, will deliver Manor’s life story and read two of his poems in Hebrew. Stark also translated into English one the poems to be read in Hebrew by Hebron and one of the poems he will be reading.

Manor’s songs will be sung by Myla Wingard, Elisheva Edelson and the Ohr Shalom Choir under the direction of Edelson.  English translations will be read by Jewish Poets–Jewish Voices committee members Janice Alper and Michael Horvitz and past JCC president, Susie Meltzer. Ohr Shalom Choir member, Morris Lazard, will read the English translation of one of the choir selections.

Manor’s songs are the most frequently played on Israeli radio. Ehud Weiner was born in pre-state Binyamina in 1941. When he served as a radio announcer in the 60’s, he adopted his Israeli last name, Manor. He has written over a thousand songs, including Ba Shana (Next Year), to be sung by Myla Wingard and Ein Eretz Acheret (I Have No Other Land), to be sung by Elisheva Edelson. Chai (Alive), to be sung by the Ohr Shalom Choir, was an entrant in the  Eurovision Song Contest. Manor was awarded the Israel Prize for his contribution to Israeli Music. He died in 2005.

This promises to be a special evening of poetry and song presented by talented volunteers from our San Diego Jewish Community in the Astor Judaica Library of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center.

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Eileen Wingard is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.