It’s good to be here at Civitella. I’ve already finished a piece of work; admittedly small and short, but dashed off in the afternoon yesterday, while, in the kitchen – as I would later discover – pieces of rabbit and lamb were being prepared for roasting. So, a good productive start. (Hi Louis)
Their were all sorts of guests for dinner that evening, visitors with some connection to the centre, so, platter and platter of crispy pieces of little coniglio and lamb.
I thought it was going to be all legumes and pulses. It turns out (I didn’t realise this from my shallow browsing, my patchy gistology) that Umbria’s food is well regarded by fellow Italians; and that Umbria likes its meat. Such are things in the north.
So, I thought I’d drop in on BookSA, especially since I have been quite truant over the past few weeks (Hi Louis), given all forms of crises, especially the feline one. I’m waiting to have my printing set-up sorted, so I can get on with it, but am also suffering a bit from too much Amaro d`Abruzzo. Blame the poets… or that one from Mexico.
This is how the demographics shake down. Of the group of 12, there are 3 smokers (including me). These 3 smokers are all three poets. There is another poet, she doesn’t smoke. The 3 smoking poets are the only ones who order coffee after dinner. The 3 smoking poets naturally leave the table early to sit to one side and smoke. The one is Russian, and quiet. The other one is Mexican and arrived yesterday. He poured the Amaro.
Is this odd or significant: the meditative cigarette, the coffee, the poetry? Are poets prone to vice? Or are the vice-prone bound to write poetry?
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This Carting Life
August 13th, 2009 @10:18 #
Hmm interesting question. But as we all know there are more vices than smoking. You make vices sound sexy and cool. i say this because I find myself thinking surely, I have vices.
Sounds like you will have a good productive time.
Look forward to more snippets.
August 13th, 2009 @10:41 #
Hi Rustum. See me with my whip. Chasing you across the world with my homework. Glad you can use it as an engine-starter. Rustum's homework (I hope you don't mind me saying) is very atmospheric piece exactly about writers smoking after dinner.
I hope you have a grand time there - sounds like it's off to a hearty start.
August 13th, 2009 @17:11 #
Rustum, after your penultimate paragraph, I almost expected a logic puzzle question: how many of the dinner guests were wearing sandals?
August 18th, 2009 @14:36 #
I was took a virtual look around your castle in Umbria, Rustum, and am beyond impressed. Like, wow man. You lucky, lucky fish. Is Couscous all comfortably settled in Noordhoek, and are there any cats at Civitella? There must be.
I also came across some other castles on the internet, as one does, and found Stratford castle which is one of castles-for-sale.com’s featured-castles-of-the-month. Stratford Castle is on Camelot golf estate, which is just 30 minutes from Durban International airport. They say it's also close to civilized facilities such as shopping malls, and apparently one of the towers is presently being converted into a jacuzzi room. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or smoke so I did a bit of all three)
August 18th, 2009 @14:38 #
Was took? I've no idea what I meant by that.
August 21st, 2009 @09:15 #
Maybe you was toking?
Yes, medieval castles, with their scorpions and mosquitoes and wasps and hornets and the bat that flew around my head and up and down my passage. We're friends now, so that's okay.
Just to make you more envious: the foundation took us on a trip to Urbino yesterday, to see Piero della Francesca's "Flagellation of Christ" and "Madonna of Senigallia". This meant we had to brush past Raphael's "La Muta"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flagellation_of_Christ_(Piero_della_Francesca)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_di_Senigallia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_a_Young_Woman_(La_Muta)
Edit: I have no idea why the brackets in these two links are not accepted?
September 10th, 2009 @06:20 #
Krostigheid:
Ciao bello. Tu mi manchi moltissimo.
Buon appetito, caro.
Amanda Gershovitz
September 10th, 2009 @12:08 #
Rustum, send us another snippet! Thinking of you lots.
September 10th, 2009 @12:53 #
Sounds amazing, Rustum. Can envy be terminal? Or just interminable?