DOROTHY BELLE POLLACK, ASH
Remembering Violet Westbury
by Susan Z. Diamond
ASH Dorothy Belle Pollack, Violet Westbury, passed away on June 16, 2014, at the age of 92. As faithful Muse readers know, her sprightly verse and ingenious puzzles graced the inside front cover of each issue. She appeared in more Muse issues than any other author and was recognized officially as the ASH Poet Laureate. Another ASH who has a deft hand with a verse, Mickey Fromkin, pays tribute to Dorothy Belle in this issue.
As Contributions Editor, I felt I knew her well even though I only met her once. Dorothy Belle eschewed mechanical devices—especially computers. Immediately after an issue was published, I received her typed contribution for the next issue accompanied by a note as to what she particularly enjoyed in the last issue. Holmes would have had a field day with the distinctive features of that type. Since she didn’t do email, we corresponded and I found she loved to receive postcards—preferably with Canonical illustrations that she could post on her closet wall.
Dorothy Belle was a retired classics professor who served her community, Teaneck, New Jersey, with enthusiasm as a library trustee. In an age where libraries tend to focus on popular books, she encouraged the reading of classical literature and great poetry. In 2011, she edited the anthology, Great Short Poems from Antiquity to the Twentieth Century for Dover. The book included over 300 poems, all 12 lines or less. For those written in other languages, she did the translation.
