 LILLIAN BORAKS-NEMETZ
Place of birth: Poland
Place of residence: Vancouver, British Columbia
Although the poems, which were written by Lillian Boraks-Nemetz as
a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis during World War II, were lost,
the feelings which precipitated them were not. It was some years after
emigrating to Canada that she felt comfortable enough, in either English
or Polish, to explore and express those feelings once again. Meanwhile
she completed her masters degree in comparative literature and taught creative
writing at the University of British Columbia, translated the poetry of
others from Polish to English, and began to write. Her poems and short
stories have appeared in a number of English-language periodicals and anthologies.
The publication of her poetry in Garden of Steel in 1993 was a therapeutic
exercise which helped her to deal with the memories of her childhood. Another
stage in the process was the publication of the autobiographical novel
for young adults, The Old Brown Suitcase. Lillian Boraks-Nemetz
is working on a sequel to this award-winning novel and is planning a third
volume in the future. French-language rights have been sold and a TV/movie
option has been negotiated.
Awards
- 1995 Rachel Bessin Memorial Prize for Young Readers Literature for
The Old Brown Suitcase: A Teenager's Story of War and Peace.
- 1995 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Prize for The Old Brown Suitcase:
A Teenager's Story of War and Peace.
Selected Bibliography
Books for Children and Young People
The Old Brown Suitcase: A Teenager's Story of War and Peace.
Brentwood Bay, B.C.: Ben-Simon Publications, c1994.
xii, 148 p.; 21 cm.
ISBN 0914539108
Books for Adults
Garden of Steel. Written by Jagna Boraks. Victoria, B.C.: Ekstasis
Editions, c1993.
53 p.; 21 cm.
ISBN 0921215673
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