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Willa Schneberg

ウィラ・ホープ・シュネバーグ

Willa Schneberg

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1952-05-21 （Brooklyn, New York, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism (identity)
Residence History
East New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States → Boston area, Massachusetts, United States → Cambridge/Somerville, Massachusetts, United States → Zefat (Safed), Israel → Phnom Penh, Cambodia → Portland, Oregon, United States

Career

Occupations
poet, psychotherapist, ceramic artist, interdisciplinary artist
Active Years
1979-

Education

Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn)
Period: 〜1969
Year of Graduation: 1969
Country: United States
High school; her mother later taught English at the same school.
Binghamton University (attended)
Country: United States
Attended for part of undergraduate studies
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (attended)
Country: Canada
Studied art and design coursework
Empire State College (graduated)
Creative Writing and Fine Art
Degree: Bachelor's (Creative Writing and Fine Art)
Period: 〜1973
Year of Graduation: 1973
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree in creative writing and fine art
Tulane University (ceramics study)
Country: United States
Studied ceramics during undergraduate period
Boston University Program in Artisanry (ceramics)
Period: 1975頃
Country: United States
Studied in a professional crafts program
Esalen Institute (Gestalt therapy study)
Country: United States
Studied Gestalt therapy
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (graduate school)
Social Work
Degree: Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW)
Period: 1981-1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United States
Earned an MSSW

Awards

Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry (Oregon Book Awards)
2002
Work: In The Margins of the World
Organization: Oregon Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship (poetry)
Organization: Oregon Literary Arts
Result: 受賞（複数回）
Money for Women / Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grant
Organization: Money for Women / Barbara Deming Memorial Fund
Result: 助成
RACC Professional Development Grant
Work: Poet-in-residence travel (e.g., Kathmandu)
Organization: Regional Arts & Culture Council
Result: 助成（複数回）
Pushcart Prize (nominated)
2024
Organization: The Poeming Pigeon (editor nomination)
Result: ノミネート
Selected by Oregon Poet Laureate Selection Committee
2022
Organization: Oregon Poet Laureate Selection Committee
Result: 選出（就任は延期）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Box Poems

1979 Poetry

Early collection of poems reflecting youthful observation and experimental approaches.

selfdaily lifeexploration of expression

In The Margins of the World

2001 Poetry

A collection inspired by time in Israel and Knoxville, exploring family, memory, place and marginality.

memoryfamilyplaceidentity

Storytelling in Cambodia

2006 Poetry

Poems drawing on her experience in Cambodia with the UN, addressing war, recovery and the remaking of memory.

war and recoverytestimonytrauma

The Books of Esther

2012 Limited letterpress chapbook / exhibition work

A limited edition letterpress chapbook connected to an interdisciplinary exhibition about her mother, Esther.

care and aginglanguage and memoryfamily history
Adaptations
  • [interdisciplinary exhibition] The Books of Esther (exhibition) (2012)

Rending the Garment

2014 Poetry (linked poems)

A linked-poetry homage to her deceased parents, portraying an immigrant Jewish family's history and grief.

immigrationJewish identityloss

The Naked Room

2023 Poetry

A recent work that examines workings and disarray of the mind, informed by her experience as a psychotherapist; received critical acclaim.

mental healthpsychic disarraytherapy and recovery

Bibliography

  • Box Poems (Alice James Books, 1979)
  • In The Margins of the World (Plain View Press, 2001)
  • Storytelling in Cambodia (Calyx Books, 2006)
  • The Books of Esther (limited letterpress chapbook, Paper Crane Press, 2012)
  • Rending the Garment (Mudfish / Box Turtle Press, 2014)
  • The Naked Room (Broadstone Books, 2023)

Adaptations

  • The Books of Esther (interdisciplinary exhibition at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical yet testimonial voiceuse of multiple perspectivesexperience-rooted observational description
Recurring Motifs
memory and family historyJewishness and immigrant experienceinterior life of the mind and therapy

Legacy

Willa Schneberg is known for a distinctive poetic perspective that combines poetry and psychotherapy, earning regional and international recognition for works addressing family history, memory and trauma. She is deeply involved in Oregon's poetic community and works across literature and visual art through exhibitions and readings.

Museums

  • Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education Portland, Oregon, United States

Academic Societies

  • Oregon Poetry Association

Quotes

  • “There is a grim and dark compassion to these poems, a willingness to look at the source of unimaginable behavior and treat it with understanding.”
    Source: Brenna Crotty (Calyx: A Journal of Art & Literature) (2023)
  • “In The Naked Room, Schneberg travels poignant emotional distances. Drawing on her experiences as a psychotherapist, she explores the subtle workings of the mind and considers what happens when the mind is shattered, confused, or in disarray.”
    Source: Amy Leona Havin (Oregon ArtsWatch) (2023)

Trivia

  • Curated and presented the exhibition “The Books of Esther” at the Oregon Jewish Museum.
  • Worked for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (1992–1993), experiences from which inform a poetry collection.
  • Has curated "Oregon Jewish Voices" readings for over 20 years.
  • Married to psychologist Robin Bagai.