On this, the twenty-fourth day of NaPoWriMo, I opted for another triolet (ABaAabAB) - must be the fault of all these Gothic texts I've been thinking about in my not-so-spare time. This House of Whispers In this house of whispers born and raised A gliding voice, I worship vastness In this house where hollow smiles …
Hush/ Day 13
Today's NaPoWriMo prompt suggests that we simply - relax. Your prompt for today is simply to take a walk. Make notes — mental or otherwise — on what you see on your walk, and incorporate these notes into your poem. My whole day actually included a series of long walks (in intermittent rain), so I …
Haiku/ Day 12
Today, I decided to just settle for a haiku. Haiku is another one of my favourite forms of poetry - deceivingly short and uncomplicated, it is actually never easy to write. Sure, it's not difficult to come up with a bunch of trite 5-7-5 syllable lines, but to somehow fit a whole lyrical world into …
Making up for Lost Wifi – Days 9, 10 and 11
As you may well have imagined, I have been away and - alas! - out of the reach of a decent internet connection. Nevertheless, I got to meet some wonderful people and see some wonderful sights in Cardiff and Tintern, so I can't say I'm sorry for that. Actually, if you ever find yourselves in …
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Ascension/ Day 8
Phew! Long day today. Very long. And not over yet, as I've still much work to do. The day 8 prompt invites us to try writing in ottava rima — an Italian form that, in English, usually takes the form of an eight-line stanza of iambic pentameter, with a rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-a-b-c-c. I can't …
Thirst/ Day 7
Here we are on day seven of NaPoWriMo - every time I realise a full week has actually gone by, I end up asking myself: where has it all gone to? what do I have to show for it? And I guess NaPoWriMo helps to make me feel slightly better about myself, because no matter …
Added more ghosts to my ever-expanding collection…
Just about time I shared my new haul of vintage photographs with the world, isn't it? I bought these in Bucharest, at a Christmas/ winter holidays fair, after some negotiations with the vendor. To be fair, though, he didn't seem to mind my haggling. Actually, he looked quite happy to finally find someone who was …
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From Camden Town to Istanbul in a Single Stride: Vintage Memorabilia
I was unlucky in my quest for vintage photographs for a while - the local market has been yielding nothing but black and white photographs of cats and dogs and some tacky birthday cards. But my luck turned just as soon as I paid a visit to Camden Market, London. Have I ever mentioned how …
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I remember summer.
Short nonfiction piece, triggered by my nostalgia for childhood summertime. It was inspired by this post, which I heartily recommend. In fact, I recommend the whole On the Borderland blog, it is a fabulous read. I remember summer. The slow breeze of the hillside, the warm rain, the soothing perfume of linden flowers and playing …
A Fine and Private Place
Some of you may noticed I've hijacked the title from one of the fantasy/uncanny masters, Peter Beagle. It originally pertains to one of his most amazing novels, which also remains one of my favourite books to this day. The reason why I've shamelessly signposted this blog update like this is because it's going to be …
Encyclopaedia Vanitatum 