Poet Barbara Pellman had this to say about Lillian’s new collection of poetry, Out of the Dark.
“These powerful poems, written from the anguish of a child survivor of the Holocaust, transcend that anguish through the revitalizing nature of writing itself. The poems move from the ghettos in her native Warsaw, through cities and villages—Talesnal, Tofino, Venice, Paris, Vancouver– seeking that peace which comes from the work of the soul, not through escape but through memory and resilience and hope. ‘I picked up my life, brick by brick, and built a stronghold” the poet states, as these poems so strongly attest. They are a paean to that pain, and to the world of poetry and family and love which can cleanse it. “To live/ at the end of earth water and sky/ inside a verse.’”
Barbara Pelman’s poems have appeared in many literary journals, including Event, Fiddlehead, Antigonish Review, Dalhousie Review and CV2. Borrowed Rooms is her second book of poetry, following One Stone published in 2005 by Ekstasis Editions. Her latest volume is Narrow Bridge, published in 2017 by Ronsdale.