small things left behind

"Her first collection of poems...is powerfully sad and hopeful, full of Russian history and personal histories, her family, herself." [Full interview at http://bit.ly/1wtv7ql] ~Ariel Gordon, The Jane Day Reader

"Ella Zeltserman waited decades to pen her experiences of oppression and liberation.... In these 38 poems, small things left behind weaves a big story. It traces the poet's bold quest for a better life after she sees a Soviet documentary of a Russian-Jewish immigration... Zeltserman's story of the human cost of leaving one country, one life, for another, has made her an important voice." Fall/Winter 2014 ~Linda Alberta, Prairie Books Now

"Ella's is an important story for all readers and she tells it with razor-sharp prose and exquisite imagery. The poems tell a story of politics and family, of leaving and arriving, of displacement and longing... [A] book that belongs in schools and classrooms, on the shelves of libraries and in homes as a treasured part of a family collection." ~Deborah Shatz, Edmonton Jewish News