Florence Markoff Speaks at Temple Torat Yisrael

Temple Torat Yisrael in East Greenwich was the setting for the speaking engagement of Mrs. Florence Markoff, sponsored by the men’s club and sisterhood of the synagogue.

Mrs. Markoff is well known for her radio program stories of famous and little-known Rhode Islanders in “Rhode Island Portraits in Sound.” Many remember her popular radio feature, “There’s a Word for It,” which explored the words we hear and say every day.

As a writer, Ms. Markoff created and narrated both radio programs and is considered one of the “pioneers” among women broadcasters in Rhode Island. She has performed one-woman programs before hundreds of audiences and was inducted into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame in May 2011.

With her intriguing and eloquent speaking ability, this radio hall of fame recipient mesmerized the audience.

Her wealth of knowledge of sometimes little known Rhode Islanders was matched by her ability to portray them – speaking as them with proper accents and gestures.

One of the individuals that Mrs. Markoff spoke of was the famous Jewish poet Emma Lazarus, who is best known for “The New Colossus”, a sonnet written in 1883, the famous lines of which appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

There was a question and answer segment following her presentation.

Michael Field (fieldteam@cox.net) is a member of the board of the Temple Torat Yisrael men’s club.