Spotlight On Writers
Liz Berg
- Where do you originate from?
I come from South Wales, and have lived in Israel, Birmingham, W. Mids, Cornwall, and now Scotland. I am unusually second generation Welsh with both my parents born in Wales. My family was among the forty Jewish families in Newport. My mother’s mother used to say she spoke four languages: English, Welsh, Yiddish and Rubbish. We spoke English at home with a bit of Welsh, Yiddish and Hebrew thrown in. We are Orthodox Jews, my father eventually leading the services. I grew up going to cheder, Hebrew school on Sunday mornings and weekday nights as well as secular school replete in Welsh history, culture and song, if not language. This has had a great impact on me, my storytelling and my writing as I have had a rich tapestry to draw on.
- What do you cherish most about the place you call home?
The sea which I love so much, that the sight I get of the Firth of Forth every day lifts my heart. The changing colours of the sea are living watercolours, endlessly fascinating. Where I live, I am in the countryside within minutes and yet have all the amenities of the town. Red squirrels live nearby and ospreys come to nest, dolphins are in the bay and a humpback whale visits on her way north. I have yet to work up the courage to go wild swimming in the Firth, but I will soon. Everyone here is very welcoming and inclusive. I have met nothing but kindness and friendliness.
- What ignites your creativity?
I am at heart a folktale storyteller. I love hearing people tell tales of bygone ages as if they were now. I find details of the landscape will imprint, or minutiae of lives, an image, a passing word will flip a switch, and I have some nugget that I mull over and over before putting pen to paper. It then emerges crinkled like the string from the doll’s mouth in the old tale, similar but different, a new creation, a sideways take. It can take the form of a drabble, a flash, a short story, a play, a novel, or even, very occasionally, a poem. I don’t tend to stick to one genre either, finding that each piece will eventually sort itself. A little humour also goes a long way to ease my way in.
- Do you have a favorite word, and could you incorporate it into a poetic phrase?
Susurration, the sound of the wind through the leaves or the waves on the shore, dances through my mind, telling me tales, whispering, whispering secrets only they know.
- What is your pet peeve?
Unpunctuality. I hate being late and would rather arrive half an hour early than be one minute late. If I am on time, then I expect others to show the same courtesy. What do they say: Punctuality is the politeness of princes? It means they show they value the time given by others, where time is precious. Everyone wants to leave on time, so why not start on time too? If you know you’re going to be late or not arriving at all, let them know. A wedding was held up for an hour waiting for guests who were travelling some distance to arrive. Luckily, the wedding went ahead as the hapless guests never materialised.
- How would you describe the essence of Liz Berg?
I am a Jewish storyteller who loves words, songs, knowledge. I love reading anything and everything. My mind is like a bee buzzing, filling nectar sacks and pollen pockets and taking it all back to the hive where I do my dippy dance to let everyone know what it is I have found fascinating on that foray whether they like it or not.
I suppose that is why I wrote my book, Jewish Folk Tales in Britain and Ireland, The History Press, 2020, 2025, ISBN: 9781803999647 as it tells the history of the Jewish communities as well as retelling of folk tales that belong with the people of those communities. Most of the communities I wrote about are now gone and I didn’t want their voices to be lost.
I am a member of MAZED, a collective of storytellers and researchers of the folktales of Cornwall and contributed story retellings to the Mazed site.
I like giving back to the community I am in, even if it means serving on a committee. I am presently the secretary of Fife Writes, which aims to provide opportunities for local writers to improve their writing and give them somewhere to perform. I run a writing group for Fife u3a called Writing For Fun, where we play with words and ideas in the moment without pressure. I am a former trustee of the Society for Storytelling.
I also burst into song at any moment, embarrassing my family.
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