We Are Suffering from Blogger's Block

Yes, this bout with blogger's block reminds me of the days when I taught English as a Second Language at a minimum-security prison in Yanceyville, NC, just across the border from Danville, Va. I should point out that I wasn't an inmate there myself!

But, hopefully, someone in Finland, Croatia or Iran is actually reading this, and hopefully that person realizes that even in America one can become bored and confused and somehow try to function!

Of course, people like Mark Twain, Nazim Hikmet* and F. Scott Fitzgerald never had to worry about blogger's block!

*- A famous Turkish poet who died in Moscow some 50 years ago.

Quote of the Day- Nazim Hikmet

Today's quote of the day comes from the late Nazim Hikmet, who is Turkey's most famous poet. Though he lived in exile for much of his adult life in the Soviet Union for his communist views, Hikmet is highly regarded in Turkey. His quotes have also inspired many people in Turkey during this trying period brought on my unjust militant crackdowns by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan against peaceful protestors at Gezi Park in Istanbul. Hikmet is buried in Moscow, Russia, and his cemetery is a top destination point for Turkish people and poetry enthusiasts.


Here is his quote:

"However and wherever we are, we must live as if we never die."

SIDEBAR: A few months ago, I saw this tweet from John Robinson, the former editor of "The News and Record" in Greensboro, NC, who now teaches at the University of North Carolina. It was regarding 'cannibalism' in Jamestown. At first, I thought he was referring to Jamestown, NC, a suburb of Greensboro, but I realized he meant the Jamestown colony in eastern Virginia.

http://www.nazimhikmet.org

http://www.johnrobinson.com

For Republic's Day, a Quote from Nazim Hikmet

Since today is Republic's Day in Turkey, which honors the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on Oct. 29th, 1923, we thought we's quote Turkey's most famous poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963).

Here in America, the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival in held in Cary (Raleigh), North Carolina every year, usually in April.

Here is the quote from Hikmet:

"And, don't forget a prisoner's wife must always think good thoughts."

http://www.nazimhikmetpoetryfestival.org

Quote of the Day- Jose Saramago

Today, we conclude our quotes from famous figures associated with each of the 16 countries represented in the Euro Cup 2012 with a quip from the Portuguese novelist Jose Saramgo (1922-2010).

Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals today with a 2-1 win over Denmark; they will join Germany who defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in advancing from the dreaded group of death.

Saramago was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, which in recent years has gone to Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk and the late British playwright Harold Pinter.

The Portuguese writer was a communist politically which forced him to live a portion of his life in exile in the Canary Islands, joining the likes of the late Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet, who lived in Russia, and the late American novelist William Burroughs, who lived in Morocco (but lived the later years of his life in Lawrence, Kansas)  as writers who lived in exile for either political or personal reasons.

Saramago's most famous novels include "Baltasar and Blimunda" (1982), "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" (1991), which was very controversial, and "Blindness" (1997).

Here is his quote:

"As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene and become involved_ it's the citizen who changes things."

Quotes of the Week- Langston Hughes

We are always looking for new people to quote from all the time. But, ultimately, there are always some people we come back to time and time again which means risking the possibility that we have posted the same quote at some juncture before (this particular blog has been around for almost four years now).

One of those people is the great poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967). Today, we found out that he was born just two weeks after another one of my favorite poets Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963) of Turkey who lived much of his later life in exile for political reasons. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, and he died in New York. February 1st is his birthday.

We learned this week that he originally went to Columbia University to study engineering, but outraged his family by pursuing writing poetry instead.

Hughes was a political figure himself as he often wrote about the many injustices that African-Americans dealt with during his lifetime. His work also inspired other literary figures, and he deservedly had his image on a postage stamp several years ago.

Here is our quote from this poetic genius:

"Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly."