Remembering Ellen S. Jaffe (1945-2022), beloved colleague and long-time friend of Draft
By Elana Wolff
Ellen and I were part of the Draft Reading Series group-reading that was held at Farside bar on Gerrard Street in Toronto on July 14, 2019. We both brought ‘mother poems’ to read, though we hadn’t coordinated ahead of time. Our late mutual friend, poet Malca Litovitz, had a word for this sort of thing: “chung”—a serendipitous coincidence that most often occurs between good friends and kindred spirits. Malca and I would often “chung”; Ellen and I “chunged” as well.
Ellen and I met and became friends over poetry. We read together at a number of poetry venues, socialized over poetry, and wrote about each other’s work. The Draft event at Farside was the last time we read together in public and I’m happy to have these photos, which now feel commemorative. The one of us together captures the upbeat mood of the occasion, Ellen’s warmth and our closeness.
When getting together wasn’t possible, we exchanged emails. We exchanged a series of emails in December, 2021 when Ellen told me she was on a new course of chemotherapy. I asked if I could come visit, she said it would be best not to meet up under the circumstances. Unfortunately, the new treatment was not to be successful. Last month, February, 2022, just before I was scheduled to depart for a two-month stay in Tel Aviv, I received an urgent phone call from Bunny Iskov of The Ontario Poetry Society. Bunny told me that Ellen was not doing well and that TOPS would like to set up a memorial award in her honour. We brainstormed and came up with the title, The Ellen S. Jaffe Humanist Award for Poetry, top prize $1,000 for a suite of poems on humanist themes that were dear to Ellen: family, community, traditions and customs, social issues, peace and the effects of war, climate change, ecological issues and the healing power of poetry. See full guidelines here
Bunny, insightfully, wanted Ellen to know about the award that TOPS was establishing in her honour, to vet the themes and guidelines, and to receive a measure of gratification from knowing that her love of poetry would continue on in her name. And this is what happened. Through a three-way exchange of emails, Ellen was fully involved in the setting up of the award and was able to ‘shep some nachas’ (Yiddish for ‘derive pride and gratification’) during a most difficult passage.
On the eve of my departure for Tel Aviv, I asked Ellen if I could visit her upon my return to Toronto at the end of April. This time she agreed, but she must have known that her days were numbered and that our visit would likely not take place. I was deeply saddened to receive the news of Ellen’s passing on March 16th, one day after her 77th birthday. May her soul ascend, may her name and memory be for blessings, and may her poetry and love for poetry live on.
