memoir

Glittering Witness

West African history is reliant on oral traditions— something effectively wiped out by British missionaries in Nigeria. As such, my family line can only traced back two generations.The rest is fabulous tales of bird societies, sky kingdoms, and the ubiquitous (in West Africa), mama wata. What remained was for me was to take what old family photos in my possession, oral traditions, artefacts ...

Freilager Express

Every Tuesday I do this #Brutalist Commute to Reinach.

At Work with Marcel

Self-Portrait with Marcel.

Self-Portrait 9/4

CELEBRITY TWINKLE SUIT

Obviously the battle lines had been pre-fabricated. Imagine Joan’s fury if she ever discovered she was dating Altman in her present incarnation (as me). As it turned out, it was a mistake: I had confused Robert Altman for Robert Aldrich. It didn’t matter: before long I was sans boyfriend: passed over for an existence that featured wife, condo and a grey mini-van. I was much consoled when a ...

TYGER

I. the perfume shop Before I discovered the little East Village Fragrance Shop, I had opted for the clean citrus-y notes of Dior’s Fahrenheit for Men. It suited me and few women wore it, at least none that I knew of. The store was owned by Lalita who was Thai —and kept the staff that way. It was a small bountiful boutique crammed with creams, soaps, and spa treatments: candles, face masks, ...

IMITATION OF MOTH

It would be a second death, after all, most insects undergo a pupal transformation--most notably Lepidoptera--the cocoon stage, I believe this to be the actual model for the ancient Egyptian mummy. They weren’t trying to preserve the mortal body, rather they swaddled it, cocoon-like, knowing that at some point the outer casing would decay and free the immortal soul to go into it’s ...

UNDERWORLD

Dear_____ The news of your wedding came this afternoon. How the world has changed. I think of you and the summer we met. You and the Shepardess and Keith and Colin—and Mitch and mini-Mitch (and a host of co-workers whose names don’t come to mind readily…) You sneaking off to see Run Lola, Run; taking the early afternoon train to Pennsylvania—your broken heart; the under-pay; the string of ...