http://www.aliteralgirl.com/2010/01/out-of-nairobi/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:34:15 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.aliteralgirl.com/2010/01/out-of-nairobi/comment-page-1/#comment-374 At the Edge of the Lake that Changes Colour - A Literal Girl Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:02:33 +0000 http://www.aliteralgirl.com/?p=801#comment-374 [...] Remember when I said that the lives of men are huge? That the rules out here are unknown? Suddenly, away from the hum of cars, the tin shacks, the [...] [...] Remember when I said that the lives of men are huge? That the rules out here are unknown? Suddenly, away from the hum of cars, the tin shacks, the [...]

]]> http://www.aliteralgirl.com/2010/01/out-of-nairobi/comment-page-1/#comment-373 Cynthia Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:05:19 +0000 http://www.aliteralgirl.com/?p=801#comment-373 I have savored each of your Africa posts so far, and could have commented many times. Your writing is luminous and exquisite; each piece is rich with image, insight, and information, yet at the same time it's as elegant and precise as a poem. Sometimes I just want to pause for a moment as I read, close my eyes, and picture it, or roll the words over my mind a bit. One thing I really enjoyed in this last post is the way you honor the other lives you have glimpsed, lives unknown, incomprehensible, and unimaginable to us, but instead of being dismissive or assuming some cultural superiority, you take a position of wonder and respect. Large lives, lives far greater than we can guess at. I admire the fact that you have attained that kind of awareness. I haven't traveled as much as you have, but whenever I do, even within the U.S., I am struck not so much by the universals and commonalities, but by the infinite variations of the human experience, the many ways that lives are lived. ("The drunkenness of things being various..."?) Bottom line is that I am gratified to see that in you, such observations inspire insight, amazement, curiosity, compassion, respect, and extraordinary writing. Thank you for sharing. I even like that you leave your reader with "wide space"...just like that. I have savored each of your Africa posts so far, and could have commented many times. Your writing is luminous and exquisite; each piece is rich with image, insight, and information, yet at the same time it’s as elegant and precise as a poem. Sometimes I just want to pause for a moment as I read, close my eyes, and picture it, or roll the words over my mind a bit. One thing I really enjoyed in this last post is the way you honor the other lives you have glimpsed, lives unknown, incomprehensible, and unimaginable to us, but instead of being dismissive or assuming some cultural superiority, you take a position of wonder and respect. Large lives, lives far greater than we can guess at. I admire the fact that you have attained that kind of awareness. I haven’t traveled as much as you have, but whenever I do, even within the U.S., I am struck not so much by the universals and commonalities, but by the infinite variations of the human experience, the many ways that lives are lived. (”The drunkenness of things being various…”?) Bottom line is that I am gratified to see that in you, such observations inspire insight, amazement, curiosity, compassion, respect, and extraordinary writing. Thank you for sharing. I even like that you leave your reader with “wide space”…just like that.

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