A moment of silence

Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday (Perşembe) 12 December (Aralık) 2024 “To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven… A time to keep silence and a time to speak.“ Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 7. “I don’t wanna be the girl that has to fill the silence….The quiet scares me, ’cause it screams… Continue reading A moment of silence

What am I doing here?

Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday (Çarşamba) 4 December (Aralik) 2024 Türkiye: Above: Flag of the Republic of Türkiye This richly historical land has some of the best cuisine you will ever taste, scenery from beaches to mountains, and the great city of Istanbul. Above: Aerial view of the historical peninsula and modern skyline of Istanbul A succession… Continue reading What am I doing here?

Songs without words

Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday (Çarşamba) 26 November (Kasim) 2024 Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensationDarkness stirs and wakes imaginationSilently the senses abandon their defenses Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendorGrasp it, sense it, tremulous and tenderTurn your face away from the garish light of dayTurn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling lightAnd listen to the music of… Continue reading Songs without words

Daddy dearest

Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday 9 October 2024 It has been a while since I have written my blog and the reasons are complex. Since my trip to Andalucia – the subject of the past few blogposts – I have changed employers, visited the Princes’ Islands off the coast of Istanbul and have been building a network… Continue reading Daddy dearest

Obituary (1): The little corner gathering

Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday 11 September 2024 Writing about death shouldn’t be easy, especially when there is far more happening in the world – pondering the past, dreaming of destiny, existing in the experience of this moment. People die every day. Even when I am not writing about it, people will keep dying. Discussion of death… Continue reading Obituary (1): The little corner gathering

The one with two lives

Poetry consists of “making notes in the margins of that photo album that is life”. Emilio Quintana Above: Archidona, Málaga Province, España Sunday 1 September 2024 Eskişehir, Türkiye In a sense, the poet lives not one life, but two: The life of he who holds the pen that makes the poem and the poem which… Continue reading The one with two lives

Man cave

Above: Dolmen de Menga panorama, Antequera, España Eskişehir, Türkiye Friday 23 August 2024 As more people move to our cities there is one problem that planners have to face up to: Where are they going to put everyone? Above: Porsuk Çayı (Badger Stream), Eskişehir (Old City), Türkiye (Turkey) The lack of affordable accommodation is the… Continue reading Man cave

An introduction to death

Above: Bullring, Antequera, España Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday 21 August 2024 I love my wife. But loving someone does not necessarily mean that you are comfortable with the differences between you and your romantic other. My wife is an efficient German. She does not wish to waste her time. She had witnessed flamenco dancing in Valencia… Continue reading An introduction to death

Antequera: In transit

Eskişehir, Türkiye Saturday 10 August 2024 “No young person under 40 is ever to be allowed to travel abroad under any circumstances. Nor is anyone to be allowed to go for private reasons, but only on some public business, as a herald or ambassador or as an observer of one sort or another.“ Plato, The… Continue reading Antequera: In transit

Of a jazz that I feel

Above: Composition for Jazz, Albert Gleizes (1915), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday 24 July 2024 Last Sunday evening at Starbucks with a new student after my classes at the school have ended. He is an educated man, a well-seasoned man, despite being half my age. Not that unusual. But to… Continue reading Of a jazz that I feel