“You’re beautiful.” A friend of mine recently told me that the men in her life say that to apologize for something they’ve done, or are about to do. “You’re beautiful” = “I’m sorry I’m going to have sex with you, because I’ve been told that it’s dirty and wrong. I’m sorry I’m going to destroyContinue reading “Love letters, part three”
Category Archives: Personal Essays
Love letters, part two
Nothing will come of nothing: speak again. – William Shakespeare. I breathe on the window and my breath condenses. I step away, and the foggy film shrinks back on itself. The glass remains unchanged. I can see the street again, and the marmalade light of the lamp shining on a gray-haired woman hastily tying upContinue reading “Love letters, part two”
Smell sweet, and carry a big stick
Off her feet with the crumbs she throws you. – Kim Carnes. My grandmother was never what you would call a stereotypically attractive woman. She had no shortage of “gentlemen suitors,” but she was no beauty. She was just endearingly herself. She was loud, direct, well-organized, good-humoured, and confident. Instead of being shy on accountContinue reading “Smell sweet, and carry a big stick”
My Special Evening
A few months ago, I had, as the title of this little essay implies, a very Special Evening. I sat next to a young, seemingly sane, New York intellectual at a dinner table. For about an hour and a half, I listened to him as he talked about the fact that “‘Ukrainian women are basicallyContinue reading “My Special Evening”
Love letters, part one
“Que nos deseabamos desde antes de nacer.” -Shakira. I saw “Enduring Love” on some plane ride or other. In it, Daniel Craig’s character asked Samantha Morton’s character why she won’t sculpt him. She replies that she needs distance to sculpt someone, and she doesn’t want to gain distance, because he is her lover. That’s theContinue reading “Love letters, part one”
Natalia A. 