writing

Below are samples of my writing. Some are quite new, some date back to my KC days. The main theme is my own experience which is often told through a metaphor of sorts. Here, I assigned a chapter to each piece, partly because they capture very specific periods of my life.

In my writing, you’ll notice words I borrowed from many writers I admire. Some of them include Kurt Vonnegut, Nguyen Tuan, Mary Oliver, Paul Auster, David Foster Wallace. To them, I am grateful. But most of all, I am indebted to those who have come into my life and inspired me to feel and express in prose and imagery. They remain the only reason why I write.

chapter 4 Questions

Sue Hubbell writes in her A Country Year: “Over the past twelve years I have learned a tree needs space to grow, that coyotes sing down by the creek in January, that I can drive a nail into oak only when it is green, that bees know more about making honey than I do, that love can become sadness, and that there are more questions than answers.” This piece, which I wrote on a late September night in 2010, more or less in one sitting, is about just that. You can read it here.

chapter 6 a pillar of salt

This one was written by a pillar of salt, for a lost friend.

chapter 7 city of myths

A short piece on the city of my childhood. I must have written this toward the end of my time on Long Island, mid 2017. You can read it here.

chapter 8 becoming tea

As the title suggests, this chapter is about how tea comes to be, both in terms of history and the transformation tea goes through in tea making. The writing meandered for a while and couldn’t bring itself to an end. Visit here to read the unfinished work that it is.

chapter 9 the basil plant

A couple of years ago, I bought myself a basil plant. Not much thought had gone into it. But over the next year and a half, the plant became part of my kitchen. More than that, it was a source of awe. When it was gone, I felt this loss that I hadn’t expected. Ve hayat aşk ve kayıptan başka nedir ki. You can read about it here.

chapter 11 the adventure of mr. Kitty

This bit of writing started out as a joke as I was telling a friend over text messages a fictitious account of this cat’s adventure. I’d only come up with the next part of the story each time we texted. During the course of 3 months, the story began to take shape. A theme emerged and an ending was in sight. The tone of it, however, still needs work. And I have a nagging suspicion that this story may be more appropriately told as a comic novella. I’ve transferred some of the texts here. Do pardon the unfinished and unvarnished nature of this work.

Chapter 12 the story that did not happen

Here ya go…