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Tag: Italy

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The Power of Place – ‘A Month in Siena’ by Hisham Matar

January 8, 2020January 7, 2020 susanbassmarcus1

Having lived near Siena for a relatively longer time than Hisham Matar’s sojourn, which he eloquently describes in “A Month in Siena,” I appreciate his experiences there. As a college student, my encounters with the city were more with people … Continue reading The Power of Place – ‘A Month in Siena’ by Hisham Matar

Italy, Memoir (fiction/non-fiction)Leave a comment

No Regrets

September 18, 2019October 17, 2019 susanbassmarcus1

She leaves the book splayed on her breakfast table and rinses her cereal bowl in the sink before returning to the table with a small cup of coffee. Her electric espresso machine makes a doppio nearly comparable to those she … Continue reading No Regrets

Italy, Review, UrsulaLeGuin3 Comments

Lavinia, by Ursula LeGuin

January 31, 2019September 6, 2019 susanbassmarcus1

A fan of Le Guin’s writing since adolescence, I appreciated the author’s effort to amplify and enrich the Aeneid. Her novel in a way completes Virgil’s epic poem by continuing the narrative after the hero Aeneas, a Trojan survivor of … Continue reading Lavinia, by Ursula LeGuin

A Writer's Progress/Process, Italy, Memoir (fiction/non-fiction)2 Comments

Of Love and Regret

December 24, 2018February 21, 2020 susanbassmarcus1

Stories that evoke our deepest pains, like our regret for withholding love from those closest to us, like a need to fill the void of their absence, or our inconsolable calls to their spirits—in the dark, in the shower, or … Continue reading Of Love and Regret

humor, Italy, Memoir (fiction/non-fiction)7 Comments

The Tea That Saved Me… Sort Of

November 12, 2018March 31, 2019 susanbassmarcus1

As I raise a warm mug to my lips, steam wafts over its rim and carries the citrusy scent of chamomile tea to my nose, a scent never failing to remind me of a very bad day. Decades ago, I … Continue reading The Tea That Saved Me… Sort Of

humor, Memoir (fiction/non-fiction)1 Comment

Autumn: Paris to Firenze (Florence)

November 5, 2018November 4, 2018 susanbassmarcus1

  It was autumn in Europe. I was in Paris. No chestnuts were in blossom. No holiday tables sat under the trees. The sky was overcast, and I hurried through drizzle without an umbrella. I’d taken a break from my … Continue reading Autumn: Paris to Firenze (Florence)

Memoir (fiction/non-fiction)2 Comments

It All Went Wrong

October 22, 2018October 7, 2018 susanbassmarcus1

(A Less Than Idyllic Day in the Italian Countryside) The first blow to my youthful naïveté fell in Tuscany, a week shy of our group’s transferring from Siena to Firenze (“Florence”), Italy. We were 14 college juniors, young women about … Continue reading It All Went Wrong

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