Eliza Grinblat American Jewish poet and songwriter Country: USA

1. Biography of Eliza Greenblatt
2. Work as a Poet and Songwriter
3. Family Connections

Biography of Eliza Greenblatt

Eliza Greenblatt was an American Jewish poet and songwriter who wrote in Yiddish. She was born in Bessarabia and in 1900, she and her family immigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia. She married another Bessarabian immigrant, Isidor Greenblatt, who was involved in the banana trade. In 1907, they moved to Atlantic City where Eliza became involved in social work and collaborated with labor and Zionist organizations. In 1929, the entire family returned to Philadelphia and struggled during the Great Depression. From the late 1930s until the end of her life, Eliza lived in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Coney Island.

Work as a Poet and Songwriter

Eliza Greenblatt published her first collection of songs with sheet music in 1932. Without being associated with any poetic movement, she published several books of poetry and numerous songs throughout her life. Her songs were set to music by well-known composers such as Abe Ellstein, Mark Olshansky, Michl Gelbart, and Solomon Golub. Some songs were written by Eliza herself or set to popular folk melodies, including klezmer dance compositions, Hasidic chants, and even tangos. Some of Eliza Greenblatt's songs, such as "Fisherlid" (Fisherman) and "Ich un Du" (You and I), are among the most popular compositions in the contemporary klezmer repertoire. They have been performed in recent years by musicians such as Itzhak Perlman, The Klezmatics, Lorin Sklamberg, Hava Alberstein, Giora Feidman, Sidor Belarsky, Jacinta, and many others.

Family Connections

In 1942, Eliza Greenblatt's daughter, Margery Mazia (1917-1983), a well-known dancer, married the legendary American folk bard from Oklahoma, Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, 1912-1967). Woody Guthrie settled in the same neighborhood as the Greenblatt family in Coney Island. Influenced by his mother-in-law, Woody Guthrie became interested in Jewish traditions and wrote a series of poems about Jewish holidays. Due to his limited mobility caused by Huntington's chorea, Guthrie did not have the opportunity to record these songs himself. They were only released posthumously, performed by The Klezmatics on the album Wonder Wheel, named after the iconic Ferris wheel in Coney Island where Woody Guthrie lived from 1942. This album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2007. In her later years, Eliza Greenblatt participated in the organizational work of the Huntington's Disease Society, founded by her daughter after the death of her husband, Woody Guthrie. Eliza Greenblatt's grandson, Arlo Guthrie (born 1947), is an American singer-songwriter in the blues, country, and folk genres. Her great-grandchildren, Abe Guthrie, Katie Guthrie, and Sarah Lee Guthrie, have also pursued careers in music.