Destiny – A Poem, Miquel Labordeta
You know my friends we won’t be back again,. The virtue of the rain is annihilated in the suns and …
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Swords of Ice: A Modern Novel from Turkey
When we move from country to country, culture to culture we recognize many things in their generalities: carpets, clothes, foods, …
Let There Be Light: John Huston’s 1946 Documentary on PTSD
John Huston is one of the great directors of American movies. Who hasn’t seen “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), “The African …
Turkey to Switzerland: Hope Drives Despair
As one interpretation of Pandora’s Box goes, what remains inside after all the evils are set free — hope– is …
War in Afganistan, 1841 — The Widow’s Husband
Tamim Ansary, Afghan-American since childhood, and author of the very fine Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic …
Beckett: Trapped in San Francisco
If you live in the Bay Area and have long promised yourself to experience a Samuel Beckett play, whom you …
Carlos Fuentes: Passing On
Many obituaries for Mexico’s famed novelist and social critic, Carlos Fuentes. Here is what the Washington Post writes. Mr. Fuentes …
The Wedding Song — In Tunis As the Nazis Come
The Wedding Song [2008] is a deeply felt film of young women’s friendship under the extreme stress of wartime as …
Paris — A Poem by Cahit Külebi
Paris by Cahit Külebi, translated by Vicki Tuncer and Baran Tuncer When someone mentions Paris, I think of a woman …
Footnote — a Footnote in Contemporary Movies
Footnote, (2011) by Israeli director Joseph Cedar promises an interesting story of father-son tension in the hermetic world of Talmudic scholarship …
Turkey: The Islands
It’s raining on the Sea of Marmara. It’s raining and cold. The warm cocoon of the ferry boat, on …
The Crimean War: Orlando Figes
In 1853 the United States was 8 years away from a civil war. Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo only …