tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59007572785309718492012-02-16T01:34:32.088-05:00The rich literature of MacedoniaJennifernoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900757278530971849.post-930786230492508312008-07-08T20:16:00.000-04:002008-07-08T20:46:45.532-04:00<span style="color:#ffffff;">*</span><br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_vFmX_AelEuE/SHQGZ8HokRI/AAAAAAAABKs/P3VJupJFSTA/s1600-h/OurApartmentBuildingFrontPoster.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220804910733889810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_vFmX_AelEuE/SHQGZ8HokRI/AAAAAAAABKs/P3VJupJFSTA/s400/OurApartmentBuildingFrontPoster.jpg" border="0" /></a><center><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Apartment complex on Vasil Gorgev (Skopje), </em></span></center><center><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>where Gerald and Jennifer Semple Siegel lived during the 2004-2005 academic year.</em><br />________________________________________________________________</center></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><p></span></p><br />Skopje in winter<br />Wears gray.<br />I leave the cement block of our building<br />And walk through icy puddles to the iron block<br />of the <em>konteneri</em> by the corner of the orphanage.<br /><br />Here the cats of Skopje<br />Rule. My tossed trash bag trespasses<br />Into their feral empire as they<br />Scatter in protest, leaping lightly over<br />The open lid and fleeing into the shrouding noon twilight.<br /><br />On a bare patch of mud and flattened grass<br />Ahead of me, behind the shelter of the orphanage wall,<br />Four old men, the Roma, huddle around their trash fire,<br />Smoking, drinking--grizzled shadows against winter mist.<br />A passing bus showers them in sleet.<br /><br />On the sidewalk, passersby weave through the maze<br />Of parked cars, pulling back from the sooty sides.<br />Overhead, wisps of light contend with low clouds.<br />Skopje in winter<br />Wears gray.<br /><br />_________________________________________________________<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>(</em></span><a href="http://www.jerrysiegel.net/"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;"><em>Gerald Siegel</em></span></strong></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">, Professor of English at York College of Pennsylvania and American Literature specialist, was a Fulbright Scholar in the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 1988-89 and in Macedonia in 2004-2005. He was also awarded a Fulbright to Belgium in Spring 1997.)</span><br /></em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5900757278530971849-93078623049250831?l=www.macedonianliterature.com' alt='' /></div>Jennifernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900757278530971849.post-52247160735681069942007-11-30T11:49:00.000-05:002008-07-08T17:05:15.726-04:00<span style="color:#ffffff;">*<br /></span><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_vFmX_AelEuE/SHPWaqu409I/AAAAAAAABKU/UPeeXgDS9DA/s1600-h/Manipulated1_Skopje_Sernogoro_buccolic_scene2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220752146688431058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_vFmX_AelEuE/SHPWaqu409I/AAAAAAAABKU/UPeeXgDS9DA/s400/Manipulated1_Skopje_Sernogoro_buccolic_scene2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I am an American who has spent significant time in Macedonia.<br /><br />Anyone who has had the fortune to live in this beautiful country knows that Macedonia and its rich literature and arts will remain forever engraved in one's mind and soul.<br /><br />This site will be dedicated to the literature and arts of Macedonia, my second home away from home.<br /><br />Please check back often; if you are Macedonian, either in Macedonia or living abroad, and are interested in becoming a team member of this blog, please <a href="mailto:jennifersemplesiegel@yahool.com"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">e-mail me</span></strong></a>.<br /><br />Jennifer Semple Siegel<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5900757278530971849-5224716073568106994?l=www.macedonianliterature.com' alt='' /></div>Jennifernoreply@blogger.com0