-
Dragobete, Mărțișor and beyond
Read more: Dragobete, Mărțișor and beyond“Dragobetele pupă fetele.” Romanian folk saying (Dragobete kisses the girls) How many of you know that Romania has its very own early-Christian Valentine’s tradition? It’s a spring fertility ritual called Dragobete, which takes place on February 24, and it dates back to the Early Middle Ages. Not only this, but since the addition of Valentine’s…
-
A Valentine’s present
Read more: A Valentine’s presentDear friends and followers, Valentine’s is upon us. If you’re still wondering what to gift your special someone this spring, I have a very special surprise for you. The second edition of my poetry collection BEHOLD THE SEARING WIND, containing some of the most popular poems on this blog as well as many others, is…
-
Thinking in haikus (3)
Read more: Thinking in haikus (3)The austere sun gaping its hungry mouth: unfrozen streets, hushed voices. Thin gauze of floodlight, birds in wedding fever, boughs rotating lifeward. Young insects dashing, daring, thin cellular membrane of hope pulsates.
-
Thinking in haikus (2)
Read more: Thinking in haikus (2)Under the blinding sun I dream of quiet crisp- ness, Japanese pines. A forest muted by snow. Shy deer and ripe cones. The vastness singing.
-
Thinking in haikus
Read more: Thinking in haikusNight winds and night unwinding. Shivers through lowered blinds. I startle, stir. The sleepless moon, perched on a windowsill, ogles my slumber. Leering.
-
Words – an affair
Read more: Words – an affairThey come at you unleashed and disembodied, dark feathers, beaks like birds of prey, wings flapping, slapping, threshing… An endless onslaught of nightfall and gloom. But then, as the squall calms (and it will, if you let it), a frail one will stand out – so brightly colored in its precious evanescence, filtering in straight…
-
My interview with RFI Romania
Read more: My interview with RFI RomaniaA few days ago, I was interviewed by Otilia Ghitescu from RFI Romania about our travel guide TIMISOARA23 and the European Capital of Culture 2023. You can read or listen (in Romanian), here. Our stories about Timisoara and the Banat region, beautifully illustrated by Claudia Tanasescu, can be ordered on Amazon, in paperback or e-book…
-
In 2023, discover Timisoara and the Banat region!
Read more: In 2023, discover Timisoara and the Banat region!Dear friends, On January 9, 2023, Timisoara officially became European Capital of Culture 2023 (together with Veszprem and Elefsina), by taking over from last year’s capitals in a ceremony held in Athens. The first major events in Timisoara will take place during the weekend of 17-19 February 2023. Until then, if you intend to visit…
-
2022. My journey
Read more: 2022. My journeyTo all aspiring writers out there: remain hopeful! I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t dreaming of writing professionally, writing for a living. I started playing with words the moment I learned how to speak. And yet, for the past 15 years I barely did any serious creative writing at all.…
-
Letter to Santa
Read more: Letter to SantaDear Santa, How strong must a desire be for it to finally come true? When people fail to hear each other’s needs, I’ve the solution: I shall turn to you. Please give us will to do what’s right and patience to endure pain when we must meet it; strength to fight off meanness; boldness to…
-
Winter
Read more: WinterSo the snow comes down from the sky through an invisible sieve, hissing. Water – like a woman – in so many states, so many attires. The birds have all gone, and so has the neighing of horses. Cold. The crisp, muzzled silence the night’s only sound. Homes sleeping. Frayed blankets of white alight from…