As I mentioned in my last post, I am writing a short essay on the unique joys that come from engaging in religious ritual – especially in the rituals of faiths I don’t believe in. During the course of my travels over the last decade or so I’ve had the great pleasure to commune with […]
Two in progress; one under consideration
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
My residency is winding down, the Walls book is simmering in the proverbial bottom-drawer, and I am devoting most of my writing time to magazine projects. I have two pieces in progress now. I will be writing s feature about becoming a first-time father last Fall. The month before my son was was born, I […]
May
03
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “Running Fence”
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
In 1976, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude fulfilled a decades long dream and erected their most fantastic work to date, “Running Fence.” They built a nearly 40-kilometre fabric fence that ran through California ranchland, across rural roads, over hillsides and, eventually, into the Pacific Ocean. The fence itself was about 5.5 metres high and composed of […]
Speaking Volumes
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
Today’s Swerve Magazine, the weekly magazine found in The Calgary Herald, includes a profile I penned about Wayne Skinner. Skinner is caretaker of the most marvelous collection of books I’ve ever seen. Over the past twenty-five years or so, Skinner has collected about 14,000 books. Almost all of them Canadian and almost all of them […]
Wall: A Monologue
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
Writer David Hare has penned a marvelous and beautifully written essay about the West Bank Wall. The monologue was originally performed on stage at The Royal Court Theatre in London and now appears – slightly shortened – in the New York Review of Books. Find it here. (And thank you to Andrew for pointing this […]
Writing off the streets
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
This week, I held a writing workshop for the Servant’s Anonymous Society, a Calgary non-profit that advocates for former sex-trade workers. I first heard of SAS after reading a copy of their regular newsletter, Cry of the Streets, which contained some poetry from SAS participants. I contacted the society and offered to hold a workshop […]
The Final Stretch
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
I just past the eight month mark of my residency here at the University of Calgary. I can’t believe that I only have two months left before I have to abandon this office, this view and the monthly paycheque. I warned the higher ups here that come June they might have to call security, because […]
The new swastika?
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
Author and blogger Judy Mandelbaum recently quoted from my ‘Nakba of Olives‘ post (which is itself an excerpt from my book-in-progress) in her piece called “Is the Star of David becoming the new Swastika?” Mandelbaum writes about instances when Israelis have defaced Palestinian property with spray-painted Stars of David. She quotes the part in my […]
Rules and loyalties
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
Recently I broke one of the cardinal rules of nonfiction writing: I let someone I was writing about read what I had written. The person, ‘Katerina,’ was a Greek-Cypriot I met while doing research for my walls book in Nicosia, the divided capital of Cyprus. I learned a lot about the Cyprus Conflict from Katerina […]
Welcome to the new ‘Elsewhere’
posted by Marcello Di Cintio
After much consideration, I’ve decided to move my blog from Blogger to WordPress. I love this new layout. I’ve added a little bit more of a bio on the ‘About Me’ page, and my writing resume on the ‘Curriculum Vitae’ page. for editors (and anyone else, I suppose). Every posting, comment and photo from my […]
