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The Writing Post consists of Maria's thoughts and ideas on stories and her writing process.
Words tell stories. They convey meanings, create visual images and affect the senses. Reading enables me to discover anew and enhance my understanding, and then I want to interpret and write about what I uncover. During our travels I observe, participate and cautiously indulge in varied experiences. |
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December 9, 2017
Source: https://www.oliversacks.com/creativity-depends-openness-change/
Creativity Depends on Openness to Change
How we wish Dr. Sacks were still alive to see the glorious reviews for his new book, The River of Consciousness. In this week’s New York Times Book Review, Nicole Krauss writes:
“In his more than 45 years of writing books . . . Sacks taught us much about how we think, remember, and perceive, about how we shape our sense of the world and ourselves. His case studies of those with neurological disorders were works of literature even while they broke scientific ground. . . . The River of Consciousness, a collection of essays he worked on until his death, contains reflections on the evolution of life and the evolution of ideas, on the workings of memory, the process of consciousness, and the nature of creativity, alongside examinations of his own mishearings and misrememberings and his experience of illness.”
Everything he wrote, she continues, was infused with a “combination of wonder, passion and gratitude [that] never seemed to flag in Sacks’s life. . . . But it was his openness to new ideas and experiences, and his vision of change as the most human of biological processes, that synthesized all of his work.”
We send you warmest wishes for the holidays, and hope that, in the spirit of gratitude and change, you will consider giving to your favorite nonprofit organizations. Some of Dr. Sacks’s favorites were the New York Botanical Garden, Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, Fountain House, CooperRiis, the National Aphasia Association, and the Tourette Syndrome Association. Should you wish to directly support the work of the Oliver Sacks Foundation, your contribution will help us further the cause of narrative and humanist medicine.
The River of Consciousness is available in e-book, audio, and hardcover formats. Translations so far are available in Germany, the Netherlands, Brasil, and Portugal, with many other languages coming soon!
We are grateful for your support.
Best wishes from
The Oliver Sacks Foundation
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Thimbles of Life
The photograph of thimbles is a collector's set of thimbles; each thimble is finely designed and crafted that represents a country in Europe. I collected these thimbles in fond memory of my father who creatively designed and sewed women's clothing and men's classic suits. These thimbles are symbols of life. Each thimble serves to protect the outer skin of the finger from the pricks and pokes of the needle. The thimble is also a conduit for pushing the needle through a different strength and thickness of fabric. In life there is a need for safeguards and support mechanisms. |
Writing Historical Fiction
For me writing historical fiction facilitated the creation of a migrant’s story that covered historical events and facts of an era gone by. Research provided a voluminous amount of information to sift through and then there were the interviews and recollections of the people who lived through the era I was writing about. I was faced with a curious imagination of how to shape the different characters within that time frame. A series of back stories were created to sort through the data that allowed me to decide what would be obvious to the readers.
I was energized by the stack of information that I reviewed with care and thoroughness. Some of the back stories were clearly evident in the story while others remained invisible to the readers as I let my story develop from a street-level viewpoint of the protagonist who was a tradesman. The interactions through dialogue illustrated the authenticity of the era and the setting of the story as did the physical movement of the characters from one place to another. It was a gradual introduction of modes of transportation as they progressed in that era.
The historical facts and events had a direct impact on the lives of the characters. It gave rise to conflict and angry disagreements that portrayed a lack of a sense of belonging to a much-loved country with an uncertain future. But there was happiness, marriage, love, success and tragedy. I constructed the twists and turns within the story. I described the acceptance of the status quo by the characters and the effect of the unfolding history on the lives of ordinary people. There was political turmoil stemming from the decisions made by political leaders who did not appear to be cognizant of how their decisions adversely affected the people.
It was a challenge to sort through the interviews and recollections as it appeared that the same incident or event was recounted differently. Hence I chose the information that would suit the characters for the story I created keeping intact the historical framework. I became inquisitive when the social justice issues surfaced along with the impact on a close-knit community. I incorporated these nuances that caused frustration and deep disappointment within the story.
Writing historical fiction was an inspiring experience. I created a story with a historical backdrop that embodied pertinent issues that inform the readers who may not be aware of that time in history in a faraway land.
Back Stories on Beneath the African Sun
Story behind the book cover
It is my photograph taken from the Nakuru to Nairobi highway in Kenya. During the British colonial era this odd-shaped rock was called Lord Delamere’s nose. Today, it is properly identified as the Sleeping Warrior in honour of the Maasai legend. Look closely at the rock formation below the sun and you will notice the mountain range in the form of a man lying down; that is the Sleeping Warrior.
Lord Delamere arrived in Kenya in the early 1900s and eventually settled in Soysambu; a dry land near Lake Elmenteita. Soysambu translated from Maasai means the place of striated rock. Lord Delamere befriended the Maasai who provided him with valuable knowledge that enabled him to experiment with different methods of raising cattle. Over time, Lord Delamere created a successful cattle ranch on this confiscated land from the Maasai near the Sleeping Warrior.
One of the main streets in the city of Nairobi was called Delamere Avenue with his statute strategically positioned on the street. Post Kenya independence, the street was re-named Kenyatta Avenue, in honor of the first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta. Lord Delamere’s statute was taken by the family and now sits on their property in Soysambu. Up until today the Delamere family is thriving on this land; some of their Kenyan offspring, including the initial settler Lord Delamere, are buried on this property.
It is my photograph taken from the Nakuru to Nairobi highway in Kenya. During the British colonial era this odd-shaped rock was called Lord Delamere’s nose. Today, it is properly identified as the Sleeping Warrior in honour of the Maasai legend. Look closely at the rock formation below the sun and you will notice the mountain range in the form of a man lying down; that is the Sleeping Warrior.
Lord Delamere arrived in Kenya in the early 1900s and eventually settled in Soysambu; a dry land near Lake Elmenteita. Soysambu translated from Maasai means the place of striated rock. Lord Delamere befriended the Maasai who provided him with valuable knowledge that enabled him to experiment with different methods of raising cattle. Over time, Lord Delamere created a successful cattle ranch on this confiscated land from the Maasai near the Sleeping Warrior.
One of the main streets in the city of Nairobi was called Delamere Avenue with his statute strategically positioned on the street. Post Kenya independence, the street was re-named Kenyatta Avenue, in honor of the first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta. Lord Delamere’s statute was taken by the family and now sits on their property in Soysambu. Up until today the Delamere family is thriving on this land; some of their Kenyan offspring, including the initial settler Lord Delamere, are buried on this property.
Present Day Images of Structures in Goa that resembles the past
Goa Inquisition Monument located in North Goa
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St. John the Baptist Church, Pedda, South Goa.
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Classic home in Pedda, Benaulim, South Goa built of mud walls and painted.
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Fort Jesus—a historic landmark in Mombasa the Port of Kenya
Fort Jesus is in Mombasa on the east coast of Kenya. Milanese Architect, Giovanni Battista Cairati, the Chief Architect for Portuguese possessions in the East, designed Fort Jesus. From the air the design appears to be the shape of a human body lying down on its back with the head pointing to the sea. The Fort was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of Portugal’s King Philip 1. It was the first European designed fort built outside of Europe for the purpose of resisting cannon fire.
Over the years Fort Jesus was occupied by nations seeking to control trade and Mombasa along the east coast of Kenya. Ultimately, the Portuguese, Omanis and the British were the main occupiers of Fort Jesus. The structure within the Fort has markings of a Sultan era with Koran inscriptions on the doors while the Portuguese and the British past presence is evident by the size and range of the cannons in the Fort. During the British Protectorate/Colonial era of Kenya, this Fort was used as a prison until 1958.
Today, there are markings of the ruins of a Portuguese Catholic Chapel on the grounds of the Fort. (See picture below left.) An attractively built museum displays the history and artwork of this Fort documenting the presence of the occupiers from the 16th to 20th centuries. In 2011 UNESCO declared Fort Jesus as a World Heritage Site.
Sources:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1295
Gilbert, Erik, and Jonathan T. Reynolds. Africa in World History: From Prehistory to Present. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2008
Kirkman, J. Fort Jesus: A Portuguese Fortress on the East African Coast Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1974
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Above left is an image of the remains of a Portuguese Chapel inside Fort Jesus. Above right is the revitalized part of Old Town Mombasa.
The year 1889 marks the beginning of Mombasa’s first “catholic mission”. Fr. Alexander le Roy, a Holy Ghost Missionary (C.S.Sp), is considered the pioneer of this initiative. The first baptism took place on August 14, 1889, when Maria, the infant daughter of Diego and Natalie Pereira, was received into the Christian community. Today it is the Holy Ghost Cathedral as depicted in the picture on the left.
Source: http://holyghostcathedral.org/
Source: http://holyghostcathedral.org/
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