If there is one thing which I love about this new cultural landscape of the internet we seem to inhabit more and more, it is the ability of cultural creatives, artists, musicians, writers, armchair philosophers, spiritual seekers, and just about anyone else with an idea to make personal effort to promote themselves, find like minded […]
Archive | January, 2011
Attar – Conference of the birds
Thirty birds. The poem uses a journey by a group of 30 birds, led by a hoopoe as an allegory of a Sufi sheikh or master leading his pupils to enlightenment. One by one, they drop out of the journey, each offering an excuse and unable to endure the journey. Each bird has a special […]
New Deserts and Mountains Book Review by Deborah Symons
For me, the primary allure of reading fiction is in the learning about the inner life of others: how their reflections might differ from my own and how they might be surprisingly very much the same. Deserts and Mountains also provides meaningful insight into relevant and timely cross-cultural experiences that a Canadian born reader would […]
What do I think of the Buddha? by Yilmaz Alimoglu
A wonder of wonders. An awakened soul is the most precious pearl in a sea filled with jewels and stones. The Buddha was one of the most brilliant pearls. He suffered greatly to become the soul we think we know. His father was a feudal lord, a king. Siddhartha Gautama was an exceptionally handsome person. […]
Continuing after the Passerby with a poem by Mahmoud Darwish
I chose Sonnet I by Mahmoud Darwish to end this series of the image of the passerby. This poem can be found the the Mahmoud Darwish compilation book The Butterfly’s Burden.
If you are the last of what god told me, be
the pronoun revealed to double the I. Blessedness is ours
now that almond trees have illuminated the footprints of passersby, here
on your banks, where above you grouse and doves flutterWith a gazelle’s horn you stabbed the sky, then words flowed
like dew in nature’s veins. What’s a poem’s name
before the duality of creation and truth, between the faraway sky
and your cedar bed, when blood longs for blood, and marble aches?A myth will need to sunbathe around you. This crowdedness,
these gods of Egypt and Sumer under palm trees change their dresses
and their days’ names, and complete their journey to the end of ryhme…And my song needs to breathe: poetry isn’t poetry
and prose isn’t prose. I dreamt that you are the last of what god told me
when I saw you both in my sleep, then there were words…
To A Passer-By – a Poem from Charles Baudelaire
I thought I would continue on with the image of a passer-by, by posting this beautiful poem by Charles Baudelaire, Taken from his book The Flowers of Evil. – Yilmaz To a Passer-By The street about me roared with a deafening sound. Tall, slender, in heavy mourning, majestic grief, A woman passed, with a glittering […]
Embracing Greek Culture
“As a Turkish writer, you have positively embraced the Greek culture. Personally, I found the section describing Ali and Nour’s ascent to the Acropolis, not so much challenging on a literal level, but impressive on a figurative level. The imagery that is used to juxtapose a “white” world and also the colored world these two see is brilliant. Someone who is not trained to examine text on a figurative level, probably misses the beauty of “the ascetic look of white marble.” While Nour and Ali imagine, they notice every detail painted in brilliant color.. this speaks volumes about how this spiritual journey literally and figuratively transcends them as humans. They momentarily leave the whiteness behind, while they imagine a world full of color and majestic beauty. To me, the power of imagery speaks volumes for me, on a personal level. At one point, I used to be so proud to acknowledge my Greek ancestry; however, today’s Greek culture has taken a turn for the worse, where the traditional values have gradually waned and faded into history.. just as the “colors” of the Acropolis that Nour and Ali experience. Today, they are a pale white, where very little is done to restore and preserve their cultural importance.”
Maria Baltsas
A Thought for The Upcoming Week from Martin Luther King
If we are unable to break the patterns of our previous experiences, our past will dictate how we are going to live in our future. We can live a better and more filling life, if we pay attention to the spiritual patterns, seek understanding in them, find the reasons behind the patterns, and choose to […]
Words about Deserts and Mountains from Artist Giulio Spolverato
I had posted some of Giulio’s work before on the blog. He is a truly a fantastic artist. He had this to say about Deserts and Mountain recently. Be sure to click on his name below to check out his page and artwork at http://www.EasyArt.com. Check out his artwork here on the blog as well: […]
The Alhambra and Reflections on Deserts and Mountains by Galia Todorova
“Deserts and Mountains” is a book about the joy of finding the Road to one’s ownself and to God. This is a vivid novel combining within it past and present, Sufism and real life experience-all in the name of Love; showing us how love (divine,human,…spiritual) can change our lives. The main character Ali (a Canadian […]
Excerpts from the book
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