Drugged by Books
Soon after my father’s death, I started reading Leon Wieseltier’s Kaddish, his journal of reflections on his year of going to shul and saying Kaddish. In the days and weeks ahead, Wieseltier offered me some…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
Appreciating Arthur Waley
for my multilingual friends and lovers of literature Notes on Ivan Morris, ed., Madly Singing in the Mountains: An Appreciation and Anthology of Arthur Waley Related Books Ezra Pound, The ABC of Reading; Anne-Marie Schimmel,…
Friday Meditation
Chris and I began by sharing about last night with Sara Rendell. Then, after meditation and a reading on Dipa Ma, we drew mindfulness cards from Thich Nhat Hanh. Mine read: “There are thousands of…
The Trouble with You, Bella Levenshteyn
The trouble with you Bella Levenshteyn Is not that your soul is too small The “trouble” with you Is that your soul is too big It takes in and encompasses Everybody
Share the Wealth: Three Trimesters in Burkina Faso
Sara Rendell will read one of her poems, share photos and tell stories from the nine months she spent living in Burkina Faso on a Fulbright scholarship to interview women, health workers, and men about…
Dostoevsky Wrote That Beauty Will Save the World
Years ago A friend gave me a Thomas Merton book– New Seeds of Contemplation— He inscribed it with the following From poet W.H. Auden: “The funniest and kindest of mortals Are those who are most…
When I Listen and Re-listen to Your Messages
I listened to your voicemail at 3:21 am today Or is it tomorrow? I’m lost, but it doesn’t matter Because I always have your voice messages to reorient me Working the night shift 14 hours…
United States of Ch’an (Round up of the Last Week)
Reading Penelope Fitzgerald is ch’an Stretching out on the beach is ch’an Quitting your suckey job is ch’an Sitting and not being productive is ch’an Befriending your arch-nemesis is ch’an Attending to your 13th patient…
Le Monomanie Merveilleux
Learn it by heart Sur mes cahiers d’écolier Summon it when staring into the abyss Sur toutes les pages blanches Translate it into new millennial American English Sur l’écho de mon enfance One year, translate…
Zen Flesh Zen Bones
Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings Have the fearless attitude of a hero and the loving heart of a child. — Soyen Shaku Many of us are students…