Events
Life in Málaga—Namedropping, Boxing Day, and travel recap
I’m a name-dropper here in Málaga. A couple of months ago, I tagged along with my friend Fiona to a book discussion group where everyone described a book they’d read recently. The mention of one book generated mentions of others and at some point, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s book The Sympathizer came up. It’s one of…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—Crying while learning Spanish (and triumphing)
Learning Spanish has always come with an emotional element for me. But I hadn’t cried while learning Spanish until this month. I took the insane step of signing up for a creative writing workshop at the local library here in Málaga. I’d written some short pieces in Spanish, usually essays, for my online teacher Nathalie…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—with jaunts to Brussels, Paris, Nantes
September brought another opportunity for travel, starting with Brussels, where in addition to ogling the sites such as the Grand-Place above, I attended the European Writers Salon yearly conference. I went because I wanted to be in a physical space with other writers. Also, I’d never been to Belgium. I’ve never been to a lot…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—A retreat, France, racism. Oh, and Feria.
August in Málaga means Feria, when women don traditional Flamenco dresses and accessorize with flowers, fans, and shawls, when countless bottles of the sweet Cartojal wine are poured, and song and dance, both planned and spontaneous, fill the streets of the Centro by day and the fairgrounds by night. And it happens during some of…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—Birthday, Book Fair, and Pub Date
Birthday I turned seventy-two this month. It’s weird being an age that seemed light-years away when I was thirty, forty, even fifty. But here I am. Seventy-two years can seem like a long time. It can also seem like not enough time. Nothing is promised us in this life, but I can still want. More…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—Mostly about books
The Non-Book Stuff The big event in April was Semana Santa but having witnessed the spectacle up close the two previous years, I was happy to give it and the crowds a pass this time. The only procession I watched materialized at 3:30 in the morning a half-block from our apartment as I was awakened…
Read MoreLiving and Learning in Málaga, Year 2—Distractions and Illumination
First, the joy. The end of November is marked by the illumination of the luces de Navidad that span Calle Larios and other streets throughout the city. A light show with music happens three times a night until January 5. But the first part of November was anything but joy for me and nearly half…
Read MoreLiving and Learning in Málaga—Year 2, Book, Birthday, and Friend Magic
La Feria del Libro, Madrid Book lovers will agree that bookstores and booksellers are magical. Imagine that magic replicated in a book fair of 358 stalls stretching the length of a famous park in a city that is already magical for the writers that have scribbled novels and poems in its cafes. That is the…
Read MoreMonth Eleven in Málaga – Las dos Claudias, luck and chance, Filipinos–the cookie, and, oh, yeah, Carnaval
I don’t usually start with an update on how my Spanish is going, but… my Spanish is going pretty well! Thanks in large part to two lovely people, both named Claudia. Spanish Acquisition Report – Learning with the Claudias, movies, and bookstore events In my second month in Malaga, Seattle friend Arline introduced me via…
Read MoreMonth Eight in Málaga—Language, literature, art, and lights
Art seems to have been the theme of this month. Here are a few highlights: Congreso de Literatura Hispanofiipina November began with the arrival of two lovely literary people from San Diego, California—Jody Blanco, professor of literature at UCSD and Marivi Soliven Blanco, the author of numerous books including a favorite of mine, the novel…
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