Western Reverence for Life
General William Westmoreland once said “The Oriental doesn’t place The same high value on life As does a Westerner In the Orient life is cheap It doesn’t matter” The general said this in 1972 27…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
Share the Wealth: Ayos Lang: Exploring Faith, Hope, and Love, with Nebu Kolenchery
In fall 2013 Nebu Kolenchery studied abroad in Manila, Philippines through the Casa Bayanihan program. Come join us as he shares his experience of being challenged and loved. During his time there, Nebu wrote: “I…
My Good News/14
My good news is I met Lindsey Weston and she made me cry: tears of compassion, tears of gratitude My good news is I can handle whatever is coming and if I can’t, that’s OK…
So I Hugged a Book Today by Sara Rendell
I am not sure why, but when I finished reading The Book of Mev, I hugged it. Maybe my body wanted to be closer to tangible truth. Maybe I was trying to express my gratitude to…
Scintillating Promises (The Joys of Reading and Writing/Reinaldo Arenas)
Reading Reinaldo Areas’ novel The Color of Summer was a breakthrough experience for me. From him (and Eduardo Galeano) I figured out how to structure what eventually became The Book of Mev. The following are some passages I love from his Before…
To Convert the Whole World
Napoleon is said to have described the English as a nation of shopkeepers. It is a fitting description. They hold whatever dominions they have for the sake of their commerce. Their army and their navy…
Live Life Now by Eileen McGrath Mosher
I recently came across this piece of correspondence from January 2006. Mark, I hardly know what to write. I just finished your book (minutes ago) and was so moved by your beautiful remembrance of your…
Share the Wealth with Johannes Wich-Schwarz: German-Jewish Poetry after the Holocaust
“The Not-Word: German-Jewish Poetry after the Holocaust” What does it mean to write in German as a Jewish author after the Holocaust? Can poetry recover, reclaim, and renew language after unspeakable trauma? How do we…
To Hope is To Gamble
1. The work of this emotion requires people who throw themselves actively into what is becoming, to which they themselves belong. To hope is to give yourself to the future, and that commitment to the…
Candor
You asked, “Did I ever tell you My reaction when I finished The Book of Mev?” “No. Please do.” “I cried and cried and cried.”