Eleanor Reissa on The Letters Project

• Interview with acclaimed performing artist Eleanor Reissa discussing her recently published memoir The Letters Project: A Daughter’s Journey. In 1986, after her mother’s death, Reissa discovered fifty-six letters written by her late father. She set them aside for forty years before finally having them translated, which led to set her on a journey to her father’s history during the Holocaust, which had been largely hidden from her. The book can be found in bookstores and online, including Eleanor Reissa’s website eleanorreissa.com and Amazon. An audio version of the book, with Reissa’s own narration, is also available through Audible. Eleanor Reissa is an American actress, singer, theatre director, playwright, librettist, choreographer, translator, and author based in New York City, who performs in both Yiddish and English. For more information on Eleanor Reissa and The Letters Project visit: eleanorreissa.com

The interview is conducted by Yiddish Voice co-host Lillian Shporer-Leavitt, a daughter of Shoah survivors who grew up speaking Yiddish and graduated from the Boston Workmen’s Circle Yiddish Shule. A former computer business analyst and software trainer, she is an experienced Yiddish teacher and translator, having taught at the Workmen’s Circle, Gann Academy of Greater Boston, Boston University Hillel, and Brandeis University. In addition, she has subtitled Yiddish films for the National Center for Jewish Film and translated Yizkor (memorial) books for the Jewish Genealogical Society.

• Music/Spoken Word recordings:
  • Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: Zumerteg
  • Zvee Scooler: Vakatsye in di Berg
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: August 17, 2022