By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — Stewart Florsheim, son of a Holocaust survivor; Simon Patlis, immigrant from the former Soviet Union; and Adam Shames, Chicago native, will be the three featured poets for the Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices program at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 6, in the Astor Judaica Library of the Lawrence Family JCC.
Stewart Florsheim has been writing poetry since he was 16 years old. Born in New York City to a Holocaust survivor and a refugee from Hitler’s Germany, he has written extensively about the Shoah and edited an anthology of poetry by children of Holocaust survivors, Ghosts of the Holocaust.
He attended Syracuse University for his undergraduate work and San Francisco State University, for his MA in Creative Writing. He has won awards for his poetry books: The Short Fall From Grace, received the Blue
Light Book Award in 2005. A Split Second of Light was given Honorable Mention in the San Francisco Book Festival in 2011, and his new collection, Amusing the Angels, won the Blue Light Book Award in 2022.
He is a frequent poetry workshop leader. His next workshop will be a four-week online session sponsored by Cal State East Bay, beginning on June 3. The Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices Committee became aware of Florsheim through his nephew, Jordan Fruchtman, former JCC administrator.
Simon Patlis is the second poet ever invited to return to the series because the first time he presented his poems in the Russian language. This time, he will be presenting his English translations of Ukranian poets.
Simon Patlis was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and later moved to Kishinev, which is now in the Ukraine. When he was growing up, both countries were part of the Soviet Union. Simon moved to the United States in 1991 and settled in San Diego. He is a trained mathematician and works as a consultant in Information Technology.
He has written poetry since early childhood and also translates English poetry into Russian and Russian poetry into English. In 2006, his book, Duda, was published in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The following year, his work appeared in The Notebook: A Collection of Contemporary Russian Poetry in North America.
He has continually contributed to collections and almanacs of poetry published in Russia and the US.
Most recently, two of his English translations of poetry by a Ukranian poet appeared in the 2025 EastWest Literary Forum.
Adam Shames took part in the recent Tapestry, a day of learning, presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family JCC. He led all the attendees in a selection of songs before they scattered to attend the many class offerings. For one of the class choices, he conducted a session of spirited singing and jamming with a variety of instruments.
Shames grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and received his MA from Stanford University. He is a poet, singer-songwriter, storyteller and song leader.
As founder of Kreativity Network, he has led creative programs and workshops for hundreds of groups. He also served as the executive director of Poetry Pals, an interfaith program bringing together students from Jewish, Muslim and Catholic schools to write poetry and learn from each other’s traditions.
He has published extensively in journals, including Mid-America Poetry Review and Mercury: the Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. His book of poems, Dreaming in Corners, was published by the Luku Press. His original works have also appeared in synagogue high holiday readers.
With three such talented participants, the May 6 program promises to be outstanding. Following the featured poets, there will be a half hour of open mic during which audience members are welcome to read one of their works. The evening will culminate with a reception with refreshments provided by members of the Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices Committee.
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Eileen Wingard is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.