A Poem by Fernando Pessoa

This Morning I Went 

Out Very Early

This morning I went out very early,

Because I woke up even earlier

And had nothing I wanted to do.

I didn't know which way to go,

But the wind blew hard toward one side,

And I followed in the way it pushed me.

So has my life always been, and so I would like it always to be --

I go where the wind takes me and I don't need to think.

Pablo and His Poetry...

I am still working on my jewellery post and it's going to be a long one. In fact, I might have to publish it in installments because I don't want my blog to have a heart attack. Maybe, I will even do a slide-show, we'll see.  Anyway, since the artist interview is still not completed, I thought I would bring you some more poems from Pablo Neruda.

1971

If you find on some road
a little boy
stealing apples
and a deaf old man
with an accordion,
remember that I am
the little boy, the apples , and the aged man.


A Citizen

Each week I become restless.
I look for aluminum clouds,
tormented screws,
bars of silent nickel,
unneeded doorknockers.
Hardware stores
know about my enthusiasm...


To My Obligations

I just work and work,
I must replace
Our faulty memory,
I must fill darkness with white bread,
I must create hope anew (...)


The Turtle

the turtle came to a halt,
remained here
asleep
and is not aware of it.
She was so old
she hardened,
she forgot about the sea and its waves
and became rigid
like a flatiron
and then fell asleep,
a boulder
among other boulders.


                                                      need      two wings
                                                   you        a violin
                                                 sky         and so many things...
                                               the
                                             to
                                           rise
                                         to
                                       want
                                     you
                                   If


The Guilty One

I declare myself guilty for not having
made, with these hands that they gave me,
a broom.
Why didn't I make a broom?
Why did they give me hands?
What good did they do me
if I only saw the murmur of the grain;
if I only had ears for the wind
and I didn't recognize the thread
of a broom,
still green in the earth

All poems are courtesy of Earth Tones: The Poetry of Pablo Neruda by Manuel Duran and Margery Safir and from NERUDA: An Intimiate Biography by Volodia Teitelboim.

A Kiss From Mexico

I can't even put into words how cold it has been, so cold that there was a week where I stopped going outside.  Even. To. The. Grocery. Store.  That's how cold.  I started craving something warm, something hearty and it had to be a soup.  I knew it had to involve lentils, don't ask me why, I'm not even a vegetarian.  I quit that many years ago and I haven't looked back.  So, I began my search.  There were countless of soup recipes that I looked at but nothing really stood out.  I wanted something spicy, something tart but also something filling and with beans (yes, on top of the lentils).  And here's what I came up with:  A Spicy Lentil-Bean Soup with a Kiss From Mexico.  Eating it will make you happy, I promise.

Ingredients:

I should probably warn you that a lot of this soup came from a can, awful I know.  It's not that it was meant to be quick and easy it's just that I'm incredibly lazy when it comes to soaking anything overnight.  I simply can't bring myself to do it.  I like to cook spontaneously and the idea that I have to prepare something the day before turns me off completely.  I'm sorry, but unless you're making cheesecake (which I suggest is the only thing worth spending that much time on) no recipe should require 24 hours of prep time, even if it involves soaking something in water.  Of course, if you're feeling empowered don't let me stop you and go ahead, use dry ingredients.  But here is what I did:

Sautee the following in a pan:

1/2 medium sized Vidalia onion or yellow onion
4 large garlic cloves (minced or crushed through a press)
1/2 cup of chicken stock (take this from the carton you will be using to make the soup)
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil or grapeseed oil

Of course if you like a stronger flavour by all means use more onion and more garlic.  Don't let me stand in your way.

Then mix the following in a large pot:

900 ml of chicken stock (I used Campbells, you can make your own if you're feeling ambitious)
1 can of lentils
1 can of black beans
1 can of white beans

(All those canned foods!!!  Ahhh, I think I just heard Anthony Bourdain cry)

1 can of La San Marzano tomatoes (796 ml)  (use the entire "juice" plus 2-3 actual plum tomatoes)
3/4 to an entire jar of Mexican green salsa (I used the Herdez brand, it's really tasty)
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 generous pinch of chili flakes (make that two if you like it hot)
1 generous pinch of fleur de sel (or whatever salt you like)
freshly ground pepper (if you can find Cambodian pepper please use it you will love it, see Epices-Roellinger)
1/2 fresh lime (squeeze out all the juice)
1/2 fresh lemon (squeeze again)

OPTIONAL:  You can add carrots, potatoes, corn or bacon to this concoction.  Have fun and experiment.

Mix all of this stuff together with the chicken stock and then add the sauteed onions and garlic.  Cook it on low to medium heat.  If you like it thick add more lentils or beans.  The first time I made this soup I added a carrot and a potato but it was too chunky for me.  I omitted them the second time and I know that the next time I make this soup I will add corn and bacon.  I don't know why but maybe it's because this soup tastes too good to be true, and it's almost too healthy that I want to add something bad, but a little bacon once in a while won't kill you.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did.

And because this post has a Mexican flavour I thought I would add a bit of a literary element to it by including a couple of poems by Octavio Paz the Nobel prize winner for literature in 1990.  Happy Reading everyone.

Octavio Paz

Where Without Whom

There is not

A single soul among the trees

And I

Don't know where I've gone


Brotherhood

I am a man: little do I last
and the night is enormous.
But I look up:
the stars write.
Unknowing I understand:
I too am written,
and at this very moment
someone spells me out.


Between going and staying the day wavers

Between going and staying the day wavers,
in love with its own transparency.
The circular afternoon is now a bay.
where the world in stillness rocks.

All is visible and all elusive,
all is near and can't be touched.
Paper, book, pencil, glass,
rest in the shade of their names.

Time throbbing in my temples repeats
the same unchanging syllable of blood.

The light turns the indifferent wall
into a ghostly theatre of reflections.

I find myself in the middle of an eye,
watching myself in its blank stare.

The moment scatters.  Motionless,
I stay and go:  I am a pause.

On a final note, I thought I would share with you a picture of the new contemporary art museum that is being built in Mexico City by Carlos Slim who also happens to be the richest man in the world.  The museum's spectacular size and design will make your mouth drop.  It's just as grand as the Guggenheim in Bilboa.

Starting Small with Pablo Neruda

I'm still recovering from the holidays.  I don't know what it is but I haven't quite bounced back to my regular self yet.  The weather could have something to do with it.  I have barely been outside the last few weeks because it has been so icy and cold.  I could definitely use some oxygen and maybe some New Year's resolutions.

I don't know what is on your list but I'm starting small, small like the sand, taking tiny baby steps.  I've tried other ways in the past.  I had long lists, ambitious lists, 10 year lists and hour-by-hour inspired schedules that I was going to adhere to but it never worked out.  I burnt out and then I quit only to repeat the same pattern over and over again.  No more I say.

So, in an effort to improve my writing skills and to look at language from a different perspective I have started to read the poetry of Pablo Nerudo, the Chilean poet I mentioned in my previous post on artist Richard Giglio.  I'll leave you here with a couple of poems I have selected in no particular order and I wish you a Happy New Year. 

Oregano

When slowly, very slowly, I learned
to speak
I think I also learned how to be incoherent:
no one understood my words, not even myself,
and I hated those words
that always made me come back
to the same pit,
to the pit of my still dark being,
still recovering from being born.
Until one day I found on a railroad track
or perhaps it was a newly sown field
a word:  oregano
This word made me unwind,
as if guiding me out of a labyrinth.

Here is "Ode to the Onion".  Now, if there is one thing you should know about me is that I absolutely abhor onions (especially when they're raw, god that awful smell) but I like this poem for many reasons. First, because Neruda makes poetry accessible by appealing to our senses by using brilliant imagery.  And secondly, because he treats ordinary subjects like they should be the focal point of a Rembrandt painting.

Onion,
luminous vessel,
your grace took shape
petal by petal,
crystal scales made you grow
and in the dark corners of the earth
your belly of dew grew large.
Under the earth
the miracle took place
and when your clumsy green stem
sprang forth
and your leaves
were born like swords in the orchards,
the earth gathered its power
showing your naked transparence
and like the faraway sea
duplicating a magnolia
in the breasts of Aphrodite,
the earth made you thus,
onion,
clear like a planet
and destined
to shine,
constant constellation,
round rose of water,
on
the table
of the poor...

There's something really self-indulgent about reading poetry, but there is beauty in seeing flowing words on a page.  And Neruda's inked sentences celebrate life the way meat enhances every meal.  It is a privilege to be able to write like this and even more of a privilege to read it.

Happy New Year Everyone and remember to start small. 

P.S.  Both poems are courtesy of Earth Tones, The Poetry of Pablo Neruda by Manuel Duran and Margery Safir. 

Holiday Wish List

Here is my list of favourite things for the holiday season.  Whether you're looking to treat yourself or a gift for others I hope you enjoy my curated Wish List. 

1.  The first is a porcelain bowl from Boston artist Isabelle Abramson.  I don't know about you but I love all things white and these are just beautiful.  Whether you display them on their own or overflowing with some Fuji apples they're sure to add a touch of elegance to your home.  The cost for this one below is $250.  You can purchase these from her website or through Etsy.

2.  Like many art lovers I have a long list of artists whose paintings I would love to own: Cy Twombly, Caio Fonseca, Ingrid Calame and Elliotte Puckette are just a few that come to mind.  However, most of them are just a little bit beyond my price range if you know what I mean.  Besides I promised myself that the first work of art I ever purchase (if I'm ever in the position to do so) will be from Ewa Stryjnik a Polish-born Toronto artist who I first discovered while still in university.  This is Garden Series #141 and you can find out more information about the artist from Trias Gallery in Toronto.  Price upon request.

3.  I don't normally purchase olive oil because of its bottle but this one from Dean and Deluca is impossible to ignore.  The design is so simple and appealing that I'll trust that the oil is just as good as the design. The cost for this Antico Frantoio Muraglia 'Intenso' Extra Virgin Olive Oil is $48. 

 

 4.  I'm definintely in need of a new laptop case and this one from Diane Von Furstenberg is both chic and classic.  I love the Mariela print.  Available from Netaporter or from the DVF website for $135. 

5.  If you like watercolour prints you'll love these cushions from UK design firm Bluebellgray.  This one is available from their website for £80.00.

6.  I already have one of these and I love it.  Whether you're a designer or you just like to doodle this Wacom tablet is just plain fun.  It comes with Corel Painter Essentials 4 and Photoshop Elements 7.0 for all of your artistic needs. Cost $219.99 approx.

7.  I love this necklace from jewelry designer Lara Adrienne.  She uses the most beautiful gemstones and mixes together amazing colours.  If you like this piece you have to check out her earring collection available from Etsy.  This necklace sells for $750. 

8.  If you read fashion magazines you have probably heard of Maryam Keytani, a Toronto artist turned jewelry designer whose unique pieces are carefully crafted from unique finds such as ribbons and tassels.  Prices start from $250.

9.  If you're looking for something really original this sculptural piece is sure to become a conversation piece. Designed by UK designer Jill for Maisy and Alice it's also available from Etsy for $38.  Made from recylced plastic it is handmade and has the texture of lace.  It measures approximately 40" and comes ready to hang wherever you dare to daydream.

10.  I really wanted to recommend Cambodian black pepper but trying to find some online became an impossible task.  So my last item of equal measure is Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood.  If you're not familiar with this Japanese writer you need to pick this book up asap.  It's such a treat to read and one of those books that'll remind you of your 20's and stay with you for long after you finish it.

This list was almost too much fun to compile.  I can't wait to do it again soon enough for another occasion.

Happy Holiday Shopping everyone. If you have any recommendations I'd love to hear from you.