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Hi Poetry Fans,

Current poetry news concerns yours truly---and one of the nicest "gigs" I've had the opportunity to be a part of: The first American poetry reading of VOICES ISRAEL. This wonderful anthology of poetry from around the world has been published in Israel for the last 35 years. VOICES ISRAEL, 2010, is the 36th edition, which is amazing longevity in the world of poetry publishing.

I am honored to be published in this volume, and honored to be reading with the other Americans at Poets House in Manhattan.

One of my poems in the book is "Bitter Rain." This work was based on a real incident, but of course it has been interpreted and presented as poetry.

Bitter Rain

This day could surely

use some wetting down.

It’s trying; it should.

Dank as Hell on Devonshire,

Red Oaks now black green walls

knotting the mansions.

It’s trying hard to rain; it should.

This day a Polish lady,

tiny, sharp-eyed,

speaking about her long-

past youth -- throwing

rock-filled snowballs

at wounded German

prisoners on parade

at last in rubbled Cracow.

As the iron clouds burst,

reporting how the Krauts bled,

what she screamed:

This is for my father!

This is for my sister!

This is for my Warsaw!

Rain comes. Nothing washes away.

                                   --Judith R. Robinson

I have written extensively on the subject of the Holocaust from an American-Jewish perspective. Understanding and coming to terms with the horrific loss of six million Jewish souls has been a difficult matter for me all my life.  

But in this poem, I am acknowledging the suffering of others as well.  

For more detailed information about Voices Israel, 2010, go to:

http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/content/item/poetry_reading_to_celebrate_israel/

For a view of the book's cover, click the pdf icon on the image square.

The book is available for purchase by email at:

VoicesIsraelPoetryAnthology@gmail.com