Ella Romm

Eliyahu Meitus: A Grandniece's Book About a Hebrew Poet Ella Romm

My granduncle, Eliyahu Meitus, lived through the first three quarters of the XX century, the turbulent times in the history of the European Jews. His life began in Bessarabia, a distant province of the Russian Empire, and ended in the state of Israel 85 years later. He was a poet and writer, a teacher and translator, a polyglot and Zionist. My interest in Eliyahu Meitus was sparked when I found his poetry book in the family library. The book was written in Hebrew a language I do not know. Translations into English or Russian were not available either, with one exception of thee short poems in a Jewish writers' anthology book. In any case, this was the starting point of my journey into the poet's biography, mind and passions.