“Be in Love with Yr Life”*: A Spring Writing Course
Like Sontag and Beseda, many of us are tempted to be intolerant of the ambiguity and intimidated by the risks of photography and other art forms. Ultimately, I believe we are most daunted by the…
Tag: The Book of Mev
Taking Sides
Carol, you posted, “Alas, Mark, must we always ‘Take sides’–or is there a middle way?” You know the Buddha would say there’s a middle way, for sure. You saw what Dom Pedro did, no “ifs,…
Gratitude/998
Since she took my class in 2007 She’s read The Book of Mev six times It’s an annual ritual It’s reading as rejuvenation To instill urgency To her flagging spirit
Say Yes! A Google Chat with Lindsay Sihilling
Mark Chmiel: Hey Linz lindsay sihilling: hey mfc Mark Chmiel: Here’s the exercise.Choose a person you are close to for this exercise in which one person gives and the other receives. Person A says 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…
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.”
Reflections on “The Book of Mev” from Cochabamba by Kate Raymond
Dear Mark, I return to the United States on December 15th and will spend the holidays with my family in Dallas. Then from the 26th through the beginning of January we will be in Colorado…
Stand-In
All those evenings I drove down to Brandeis Avenue To see my great-aunt Leah Salzman Miller 1986-1992 I remember Mev joined me once And took photos of Leah and me Leah was fierce A widow…
On Ferlinghetti’s Americus, I
For Dianne Lee and Lynette D’Amico When I first read Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Americus,I just before The Book of Mev was published, I was energized by discovering how much it is a mish mash, full of…
Gratitudes
Sunday 2 December 2012 Thanks to Daisy Frenchwell for helping with raking the yard and making a delicious fruit salad Thanks to the all people who liked today’s photo of a tanned, twenty-year-old Mev in…