If You Missed My Talk at the AUC…

And really must see me talk about the blog as literary salon, well:

No, I have no idea what I’m doing with my hands.

12 Comments

  1. Love it, Marcia!

  2. I’m one of your dedicated readers. Within this last year I moved to Abu Dhabi from the U.S. and I wanted to know this place that is so mysterious and unknown to Americans. My way of learning about a place is through literature (I’m also a librarian and terribly text oriented). I’m definitely a place-centric reader and my place is here now. I’m telling you this just in case you were wondering who that aunt (your allusion in the talk) is who quietly sits reading your posts and re-posting them on fb. I’m not a writer or translator but I do talk to my friends about things of interest posted by you. And I take lists of titles from this blog to the bookstore. I appreciate your virtual salon.

    1. Kate,

      The aunt is one of my favorite characters. I hope you’re enjoying your time in Abu Dhabi and perhaps we crossed paths at the book fair — M.

  3. Good to connect the face and voice with a pen I came to know and admire. Keep up this very useful work.

  4. Mystery solved. Now I know that you don’t wake up that early 🙂
    but how do you make a living? don’t you get bored with this sometimes and you just don’t want to write? and what about when you are on vacation?

    1. Sherif, you should’ve come if you wanted to ask all these questions. 🙂

      1 – yes. 2 – sometimes, when I’m on vacation, I schedule articles … and once I had someone else post for me in my absence.

    2. Oh, wait, question 1 was “how do you make a living?” The answer is…hmm…it’s true that we’re struggling to do that.

  5. You NAILED it! And don’t worry about your hands – they’re very expressive. Such a relief from academics who drone on tediously.

    1. Thanks, cook! 🙂

      My friend Mai said I guzzled water a bit much. But I always liked speaking to students, so it wasn’t so bad.

  6. Thank you for a very interesting perspective on the viability, vibrancy and immediacy of blogs! Yours is certainly one of the most valuable I know.
    I’m glad you mentioned the issue of private and public space…this is a crucial issue and one that merits careful reflection, particularly with younger people who are digital natives and take to the publishing of their personal musings with more ease, I think.

    1. And young people who might become older people and regret this digital openness…

      1. Precisely! a variation on” I smoked but didn’t swallow!”

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