Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Lagrimar.
Hi Sophia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born on a kibbutz (a collective, socialist community) in the north of Israel. My father was in charge of the horses, and my mother worked as a physical therapist. Life was idyllic. After serving my compulsory 2-year service in the IDF, I went on a trip to South America. It was there where my friends gave me the nickname Lagrimar because I was always so homesick. In Bolivia, I bought a Campiero and traveled across the continent on horseback. I started keeping a journal, and that was how I became a writer. My Spanish was poor, and knowing that few people in the world speak Hebrew, I decided to go to the United States and perfect my English. So, even though I missed my parents terribly, I moved to Los Angeles on a student visa and studied comparative literature, first at community college and later at Berkeley.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In those days, being Israeli was never seen as a liability. In fact, I was something of an exoticism. My first job was as a proofreader for The Forward, the last remaining Yiddish newspaper in the U.S. (I worked for the English language edition, of course). Soon after connecting with a group of highly motivated, sincere writers and readers, I was encouraged to turn my journals into a memoir. That’s how this whole business started.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
It wasn’t long before I realized that my ideas were too capacious to be confined to prose. I began writing poetry, plays, and screenplays, and eventually, I began making monumental paintings as well. My chapbook “Elohim Told Me To Do It” was published in 2000 by Laylatov Press. It was eventually adapted as a puppet show and produced for Israeli TV. I have since published four novels (“Getting the General at Dawn,” “Flagrant Fowl,” “Bismarck Rabinowitz Buys a Car,” and The Woman With Qualities”) and am currently working on an epic poem with the working title “Tzom Gedaliah.”
I continue to paint, and my most recent series of white paintings will be exhibited next fall at Jumelle Kohelet in Paris.
What sets me apart from others is my ability to boast without seeming boastful.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
People are astonished to find out that I trained as an air-traffic controller. It’s not exactly a skill that I use every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sophialagrimar6.wordpress.com
- Other: https://short-edition.com/en/story/short-fiction/friendship-in-the-age-of-digital-reproduction
