"Grain of Wisdom": Bringing It to Life

It always starts with an idea, a fine thread that seems to appear uninvited yet utterly welcome. The first of a host of threads that begin to form distinct shapes that eventually become a concrete object or product of some sort, that can be touched, felt, and engaged with. The idea for "Grains of Wisdom" came to me many years ago so I am particularly pleased to see it come to life this year. The making of this book was a fine example of how the talents and skills of individuals come together to create something beautiful because no one person has it all.

I had the idea, but I needed someone who could the draw the characters in my mind (Hajdi Adamovic), someone who would know how to put the brush strokes in the right places in the right shades of colour (Berta Jimenez Martinez), someone who could capture the essence of the text and make it meaningful even for the youngest among us (Lily Kahn). And they did. 

But that is only part of the story. To bring you the book in its final form as it sits on my shelf (and perhaps yours), I needed people from UCL's creative media services team like Mary Hinkley who carefully photographed them with her Hasselblad camera, and Alejandro Lopez who did the post-production of the photographs, ensuring they look as good as the originals. Many small, intricate steps are needed to bring a project to life, and many such steps were taken to bring you "Grains of Wisdom". But as with any creative endeavour, it was a pleasure to make and see those threads come together. That's all for now; more about the inspiration of the proverbs another time.

Music, Homer and Cavafy: the "We are all Trojans" interview

Today I am excited to be holding in my hands the latest edition of UCL's Greek and Latin Departmental Newsletter. Why? Well because in it is printed the interview I had with Dr Antony Makrinos with whom I collaborated on the "We are all Trojans" dramatic reading project earlier this year. It is nice to see creative endeavours like this getting some exposure because as is quite typical, not many people know about some of the fantastic projects and events that go on within academic walls. The project showcased Constantin Cavafy's poems inspired by Homer, which were physically interpreted by actress Deborah Pugh, narrated in intertwining English and Greek by actress Augoustina Likourina and Dr Antony Makrinos while my music weaved through all their performances. In this interview I had a chance to answer some 'behind the scenes' questions about how it was to compose the pieces for the event, how it was to work with the other performers involved and how that event differed from the "Dancing Winged Words" event I did in 2014. For those of you who are interested in knowing more about the creative process behind composing the music for this innovative project (especially in academia!), you can read the whole interview by clicking the link below, and if it tickles your fancy, you can listen to the pieces below. We are already busy planning another special event for the summer of 2016 so watch this space for more info!

Click here to read UCL "We are all Trojans" interview 

Click to listen to "We are all Trojans" music