Books

Hidden Vision	Hidden Vision is Jagna Boraks’s latest poetic tour de force, an exploration of the most horrid parts of the world we inhabit to the most sublime, from the pits of horror and the edges of despair, to, ultimately, hopes of the grand heights humanity can achieve. “Poems for Hidden Vision walk us through ‘the shadow of death’ to an understanding of ‘goodness and mercy’. Jagna Boraks’s words invite the reader into the sacred ceremony of life.” – Patricia June Vickers, Indigenous psychotherapist, artist and author of Singing to the Darkness Hidden Vision can purchased through the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre at info@vhec.org and 604.264.0499.
Out of the Dark	This collection offers a cycle of poems about the poet who, as a child survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, has had to live with the memories of the Holocaust all her life. The first section describes the evils of suffering and prejudice, of war and destruction, and the loss of loved ones, even the loss of self. “This is a ghetto / where humans live in neglected cages / within a fire that burns sleep out of their eyes.” The second section brings glimmers of light in finding ways to move towards a better, fuller life, as the poet realizes “We must always seek / new ways / of reaching one another / though each of us / is a world unto itself.” The third section offers a tribute to the artists and poets who have come before and who have left behind their gifts for us. It recognizes the connections and love within the family and the ability to live and love. “I run toward you / carrying the glow of marigolds / lighting your path to my love.” Follow this link to pre-order.
Mouth of Truth	Lillian Boraks-Nemetz’s controversial new novel speaks to the power of truth and justice. Mouth of Truth — a gripping tale of impossible choices, divided loyalties and unimaginable horrors — reveals buried family secrets. Batya, the protagonist, has suffered discrimination, sexual, verbal and psychological abuse. Despite this, she has been trying to live a normal Canadian life. One day, a friend confronts her with a secret revelation about her father, which makes her question her family history, its legacy of guilt, and her own survival. Batya approaches a crisis brought on by series of events that trigger memories of her family s dark past. Shocked and betrayed, she forsakes her current life and embarks on a journey of discovery to look for the truth in hope of finding what lies behind the terrible secret with which she must cope before she can feel love, find healing and peace.
The Old Brown Suitcase	Ronsdale Press Sheila A. Egoff Prize in Children’s Literature Rachel Bassin Prize, Toronto “At the bottom of the suitcase were several poems and stories I had written, and then some photos……………….I thought of the burnt pictures of my childhood and tried to rekindle them in my mind, like the candles that people light in memory of the departed. And I could see them before me, rising out of flames.”
The Sunflower Diary	Roussan Publishers, 1999 1999, Nominated by the Ontario Library Association for The Red Maple Award. Cher Soleil, September 7th, 1949 I feel disconnected from this place, and even from myself. It’s like being in a prison surrounded by a brick wall. Like during the war. I seem to be observing myself as some stranger, who carries out her prescribed tasks and participates in events over which she has no control. To be hiding in an institution as if I have nowhere else to go! There are really two of me here: Elizabeth and Slava. Just as there were two of me there: Irena and Slava. (pg 46-47)
The Lenski File	Roussan Publishers, October 2000 The world I am in now cannot be interrupted. It is filled with poetry and Tad. I am no longer the childlike Slava of Montreal, or the struggling Elizabeth at boarding school in Victoria. I feel changed in a way I don’t understand. Tad seems a little detached at times and I feel insecure about his feelings for me. Adam, from this vantage point, is but a pin on the map of my life. Joshua is still there, like a sunflower in my grandfather’s garden that I loved but that now only exists in memory.
Garden of Steel	Poems by Jagna Boraks (Lillian Boraks-Nemetz).
Ghost Children	Poems, published by Ronsdale Press, Summer 2000 Excerpt below. Insomnia The tooth of night pierces my flowering dream a black sunflower bleeds inside my head
Slava	French translation of The Old Brown Suitcase Published by Les editions Heritages Inc. Montreal, Quebec, 1996. Translated by Michele Marineau Je songeai aux images de mon enfance detruites par les flammes, et je tantai de les ranimer dans mon esprit, comme ces bougies que les gens allument en souvenir des defunts. Je vis ces images devant moi, emergeant clairment des flammes.
Dark Times	Poems by Waclaw Iwaniuk. Translated from the Polish by Jagna Boraks (Lillian Boraks-Nemetz) and others. Published by Houslow Press.
Astrologer in the Underground	Poems by Andrzej Busza. Translated from the Polish by Jagna Boraks (Lillian Boraks-Nemetz) and Michael Bullock. Ohio University Press.
Tapestry of Hope	An Anthology of Holocaust Writing for Young People Editors: Lillian Boraks-Nemetz and Irene N. Watts. Published by Tundra Books – Winner of the Canadian Jewish Book Award, in Holocaust Studies, 2004 – Toronto Jewish Book awards: Isaac Frischwasser memorial Award for Young Adult fiction, 2004 – Recognized as Honour Book for 2004 by the International Association of Libraries – Finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Award, BC Book Prizes 2004 – Honour Book: Society of School Librarians International Awards 2003 – Shortlisted: Sheila Egoff Children’s Literature Prize – Shortlisted: Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult fiction Award 2004 -Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Young Adult Top 40 Nonfiction tit les 2003 – Tapestry of Hope was also nominated for the 2005 Stellar Book Award
Other Works	<b<Film Never Forget to Lie – a 2013 PBS Frontline documentary about Polish child survivors of the Holocaust. – “Lillian Boraks-Nemetz: “My Holocaust Survival” Lillian has also appeared in films: Hidden in Poland; My Mother, My Hero; Poetry of Resilience. Translations From the Polish, Waclaw Iwaniuk, Lillian Boraks-Nemetz (as Jagna Boraks) Canadian Poets from A to Z. Edited and introduced by P. K. Page Six poems from the Polish, Waclaw Iwaniuk, as Jagna Boraks Seven Polish-Canadian Poets, 1984 Dark Times, poetry of Waclaw Iwaniuk Astrologer in the Underground, poetry of Andrzej Busza Included in Anthologies A poem: An Ancestral Dance In Jewish Prague in Psychoanalytic Perspectives: A Journal of Integration and Innovation. Volume 5, Winter 2007. The Old Brown Suitcase in Girls Own: An Anthology of Canadian Fiction for Young Readers. Edited by Sarah Ellis, 2001. A Speech to the British Columbia Legislature, May 2000: A Long Road to Freedom in Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. Condensed Novella Nina de Luna in Aquelarre, Latin American Womens magazine, 1992 2 poems, in Hong Kong Literature Monthly An essay: The Child, as the Hero/Victim of the Dark Planet The Holocaust in CCL, no 95, Vol 25:3 Living Legacies, Vol lV Liz Pearl, 2014 Hoping for Home Scholastic Canada, 2011 Terre d’accueil, Terre d’espoir, Scholastic Canada,2012 Girls’ Own , Sarah Ellis, Penguin viking 2001 Works About Lillian Lillian has had various articles written about her life and work, among them: Life into Fiction: A Profile of Lillian Boraks-Nemetz by Janet Nicol WordWorks: The Voice of British Columbia Writers, Winter 2007. and many others.