Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Dani James
info [at] danijames.co

Survivor Tobias Schiff’s Harrowing Holocaust Memoir, Return to the Place I Never Left, Debuts in English with Translation by Dani James

New York, NY – January 4, 2025 – For the first time, English-speaking readers can experience Return to the Place I Never Left, a poignant Holocaust memoir in verse by Tobias Schiff, translated from Flemish by Dani James. Available for preorder, the book will be released in hardcover, paperback, and e-book formats on January 14, 2025.

Originally delivered as oral testimony, Schiff’s memoir recounts his teenage years under Nazi persecution in Antwerp, Belgium, his deportation, the 33 harrowing months he endured in multiple concentration camps, and how he navigated the aftermath of trauma. Schiff’s verse, both searing and lyrical, explores themes of identity, resilience, and faith, offering readers an intimate, unflinching portrait of survival, including how Schiff navigated the lingering wounds of trauma.

By choosing verse as the medium, Schiff’s memoir transcends traditional narrative forms, offering a poignant and memorable reading experience that resonates with readers long after they turn the last page. The translation, undertaken by Dani James, retains the rhythm and texture of the original Flemish text while pulling the poetic form through even further, making Schiff’s profound testimony accessible to an English-speaking audience for the first time.

“Schiff’s book, a Holocaust memoir in verse, excellently translated by Dani James, is a literary discovery. Because of the immediacy of the verse, close to the oral tradition, the reader is forced to think about the relationship between text and reality, between the writer as artist and the writer as witness.”
―Arnon Grunberg, author of Blue Mondays

“This book adds an important chapter to the oral history of a shameful episode in the twentieth century. Under the pressure of such immense emotions, the act of translation is a herculean task and especially so when the text is in poetic form. But Dani James does an admirable job rendering an English version of the original Flemish, whose heavy consonants and different rhythmic accents carry a kind of aural weight that is very difficult to capture in English.”
―Keming Liu, professor of linguistics and literature, Medgar Evers College, The City University of New York (CUNY)

Return to the Place I Never Left reminds readers of the relevance of Holocaust testimony at a time when acts of antisemitism and hate speech continue to rise, serving as a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, and a reminder of our collective humanity.

Publication Details

  • Title: Return to the Place I Never Left
  • Writer: Tobias Schiff
  • Translator: Dani James
  • Publication Date: January 14, 2025
  • Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, E-book
  • ISBN: 978-0814351628

For more information, review copies or interview requests, contact Kelsey Giffin at kelsey.giffin [at] wayne.edu or Dani James at info [at] danijames.co.