To be spared by the thing that would devour you: that’s all I could think of when Karak explained the small island of trees marooned in the black sweep of stone. Stone that had once flowed, flared and burned. Stone that had been the colour of hot coals, all boiling and blistering in the dark … Continue reading In the Shadow of the Volcano
“Whoever raises the great stones sinks.” ~ Giorgos Seferis, “Mycenae” Like a river on a map, I trace the sinuous line with my finger as it meanders over the stone. The crystallised vein is rust-orange in a shadowy white expanse. The marble is rougher than I’d imagined, more like a sheet of compressed salt, baked … Continue reading The Marble Shore
“We were deeply engaged in this improbable geology.” - Patrick Leigh Fermor, Roumeli I woke early to beat some of the fevered heat of the plains, the kind of humid blaze that leaves you soaked to the skin by mid-morning. The silhouettes of the Meteora were etched faintly against the night sky when a startling … Continue reading Meteora: Stones of the Sky
To listen to an audio version of 'The Circumference of a Second' please press the play button. for Dimitris Noulis Sometimes just a few words can transport us. A friend had emailed me the first line of a 17th century poem by Henry Vaughan, and I found myself reading it over and over: I saw … Continue reading The Circumference of a Second
The trajectory of a tree's life is as unforeseeable as our own, determined as much by circumstance as intention. Like any living organism, it has its phases and difficult ages. It's subject to environmental shifts and storms, to changing patterns of land use and arbitrary rains. A tree might be shaped by strict winds, the intimate attentions of … Continue reading Sticks and Stones
Julian Hoffman 