I believe in love at first read. Rumi’s poems always felt like a healing balm to my soul. I remember the day I realized I couldn’t rely on English translations of Rumi’s works. I was like Rumi in this picture. We know that no translation can ever replace the original and we are unfortunately unable to learn all the languages in the world. Many literary … Continue reading Rumi: Lost in translation
Have you spotted any mystical elements in T.S. Eliot’s poetry? Four Quartets, a set of four poems published in 1943, is one of Eliot’s biggest masterpieces and poetic meditations. Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable. What might have been is an abstraction … Continue reading T.S. Eliot and Sufism
Why should I seek? I am the same as He. His essence speaks through me. I have been looking for myself! In the heart of 13th-century Konya, Turkey, the meeting of two luminaries—Rumi, the celebrated Persian poet, and Shams, the enigmatic mystic from Tabriz—marked the beginning of a profound spiritual journey that continues to inspire seekers of truth and enlightenment to this day.Shams means sun … Continue reading Rumi and Shams: a love story
Rumi’s poetry is based on Sufi mysticism, spirituality and most importantly, love. Sufis dance “like nobody’s watching, love like they’ve never been hurt and live like it’s heaven on earth”, as a wise man once said. However, according to Sufism, there is indeed someone watching – God, and love can never hurt since there is no love without sacrifice. But Sufis dance like there is … Continue reading Rumi’s Dance
In his 1942 philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd. We all know life can be really weird sometimes, but making a whole philosophy out of it? Only Camus is able to do that. Born in Algeria in 1913, one of the best French philosophers Albert Camus lived in a world torn apart by two World Wars. He was … Continue reading Imagine Sisyphus happy!
One of the best French poets, Paul Valéry, was born on this day in 1871. In addition to his poems, he also wrote philosophical essays. After an existential crisis in his twenties, Paul Valéry stopped writing and experienced writer’s block, a well-known phenomenon in the life of many classic authors. His salvation, you may ask? Poetry. Here are some of his quotes on his beloved … Continue reading 150 years – Paul Valéry (October 30, 1871 – July 20, 1945)
German-speaking Jewish writer from Prague working for an Italian insurance company… No, that’s not how one can describe the author of The Metamorphosis. At least, that’s not how Kafka would describe himself. “I never wish to be easily defined. I’d rather float over other people’s minds as something strictly fluid and non-perceivable; more like a transparent, paradoxically iridescent creature rather than an actual person.” This … Continue reading Was Max Brod a bad friend?
The Lusiads by Luís Vaz de Camões is one of the most important and most representative literary works ever written in Portuguese. If English is the language of Shakespeare, French the language of Molière and Italian the language of Dante, Portuguese is the language of Camões. More than thousand verses compose what literary critics call “the Portuguese Iliad”. What makes this epic poem so special? … Continue reading Portuguese literature: #1 The Lusiads by Camoes
João Guimarães Rosa – who on earth is this guy and how do you even pronounce his name? Well, this is the author you cannot miss if you want to discover Brazilian literature. Novelist, poet, diplomat and polyglot, Rosa’s work is one of the best literary achievements in the world. His story The Devil to Pay in the Backlands was named among the best 100 … Continue reading Brazilian literature: #2 João Guimarães Rosa – The Devil to Pay in the Backlands
New monthly language challenges ! 🗣️ Sweet October comes and brings new challenges ! 🍂 Holidays are over and we’ve already got so much to do, but challenging our brains from time to time can help us keep our minds sharp. 🧠 Learning a foreign language and exposing yourself to a different culture is one of the best brain exercises. 💪 Most of us usually … Continue reading New monthly language challenges! 🗣️
Art of Saudade 