Welcome to my new blog. As a writer I invite your responses to my work, and discussions about the art of writing. The details of my books, which include 3 novels: ‘Cafe Scheherazade’, ‘Scraps of Heaven’ and most recently, ‘Sea of Many Returns’ can be found on my website www.arnoldzable.com There are also details about several books of non fiction including ‘Jewels and Ashes’ and ‘The Fig Tree’ and other works. I am interested in your comments and in discussing all aspects of writing and publishing. This can include themes as diverse as the use of dreams in fiction, writing memoir, the art of storytelling, and the specific themes of individual books. As current president of the Melbourne Centre of International PEN, I am interested in human rights issues. It will be a pleasure to discuss the craft of writing with my readers and interested visitors to my website. A writer cannot exist without readers and fellow writers.
January 7, 2009
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Hi Arnold,(or Aaron as they call you here).
Just afew words to say how delighted I was to read your book.
Cousin Efthimio & I discuss you often, I think it’s time for you to translate your books…..
We are waiting for you to make your next trip to ithaca.
Please pass on my regards to Dora & Alexander.
Am looking forward to your next book.
Regards
Catherine Andrews Rombotis
Platrithia Ithaca
Comment by Catherine Rombotis (Ithaca) — January 28, 2009 @ 6:34 am
Hi there Arnold, I have just read Cafe Sheherezad and am now reading Scraps of Heaven. It is different for me. I have been reading American writers of late. Your rhythym is different, lyrical, and strangely contradictory in that it seems to have a certain redundancy, like fairy story or fable, but also is at once dense with meaning like poetry and elliptical. There is something that is captivating for me. It is another world. Maybe I will become a better listener. I may have to go back and re-read. It seems it may be a mistake to read your books too quickly, or too closely together. Thanks Valerie (Perth) PS I agree Yiddish should not be lost! I’m loving becoming more acquainted with it.
Comment by Valerie Preston — March 10, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
hello Im very interested in your work and i look forward to seeing you at Goulburn valley grammer school on the 12 of march 2009 thankyou for giving up your very precious writting time to come and visit us
Comment by megan — March 10, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
Hello. I was at one of your workshops at GVGS today. I was really inspired and are looking forward to reading your books. Since you have taught me about painting with words i have a great base for a story i am about to attempt to write. I will reasearch like you said and hopefully have a great end product! i also talked to my mum and turns out there is a lot of interesting stories to me gteat grandparents to write about in the future! i had a great time at your workshops and can’t wait to start reading and writing!
Thanks
Comment by Abbey — March 12, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Hi Arnold,
I have to confess, i just discovered you while listening to Radio Nat last Monday. I knew i’d seen your name and then found your story in Yearning to Breathe Free. I love and dread reading such stories. Love to know that people are taking this material that is our cultural history (sadly) and treating it with such respect and sensitivity. And also dread to be reaquainted with the reality of our treatment of asylum seekers in recent years. I thought it was interesting how you said it was a tragic irony that Amal died of cancer. I’d love her disease and untimely death to be seen to be precipitated by the pain and stress associated with witnessing the events that she did.
I’m putting together a book of art works that came from workshops i ran with Afghan asylum seekers on TPVs. Got some good funding. It will have stories and inteviews with the artists. I also have to write something myself. How can i get your imput? Are you running any workshops this year? Will be in Melbourne from 25th Mar -8th April. Are you giving any talks? Will try and read more of your material soon. I’ll also write again. I am so interested in all the things you talk about. I’m priviledged to have an expert on Afghan poetry contributing to the book, he is also a poet himself. I want to celebrate the riches of Afhgan culture, and delve into the mysticism evoked by the poetry. And I want to talk about what happened to refugees here, the injustice of it. They seem like such different subjects. How am i going to pull it off???
Comment by fiona hamilton — March 13, 2009 @ 10:12 pm
Finally, I have time to respond to the previous 6 comments. It’s been a busy time with deadlines, writers’ festivals and so on.
Great to hear from Catherine on Ithaca. It takes me back to the island and to the northern villages where Catherine lives. I need to find a Greek translator for ‘Sea of Many Returns’ so that more Ithacans can read it.
Valerie, your comments about ‘Cafe Scheherazade’ and ‘Scraps of Heaven’ are very interesting. They bring up the issue of the individual ‘writer’s voice.’ In both those novels I have tried to be true to the speech rhythms of the characters, especially the Yiddish speaking characters. The wedding sequence in ‘Scraps of Heaven’ was challenging and fun to write – an attempt to capture the manic pace and syntax of the guests, woven in with the popular songs of the times.
Megan and Abbey, good to hear from you. I enjoyed my day at GVGS. Great to hear that you are inspired to ‘paint with words’ and chase up family stories.
Fiona, you have a great project. The only way to pull it off is to keep working on it. You ask about talks and workshops – I will be putting up information about them as they come to hand. I am running my next ‘painting with words’ workshop at the Victorian Writers Centre in December. But there will be others at different times of the year. I am interested to know more about the project, where it is taking place and so on. Good luck with it.
Comment by Arnold Zable — March 18, 2009 @ 9:08 pm
Dear Arnold,
I am currently studying at the CAE and wanted to ‘Thank you,’ for the talk that you gave in class last Wednesday. True dedication is a writer who still imparts his wealth of knowledge to an audience, while laughing at his brush with death and making beautiful light of the human condition in all of its vulgar yet incredibly fragile and powerful beauty. There are some points in life as a writer where someone leaves an indelible imprint upon you, no matter how short or brief your contact with that person might be. You show true compassion and insight for and of your fellow man and it is a rare and inspiring thing to see. The world is a much better and brighter place for all of the true storytellers like yourself having the guts to put pen to paper, the selflessness and compassion to truly listen and share of themselves with others.
Thank you again for your time, best of luck with your future writing.
Kind Regards,
Naomi.
Comment by Naomi — March 31, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
Hello
I heard you read at Perth writer’s festival, my friend lent me Jewels and Ashes, it was the sort of book that I wanted to read all at once but I kept by my bed to read at short intervals so I could prolong the journey that you took.
A really wonderful read, what a moving and beautifully written account of your parent’s world. I think we are the same age and the world of my parents too was so affected by the events on Europe. How fortunate to grow up in Australia but how bland it is compared to the history of centuries of settlement.
And I could blather on.
thank you for putting this story together.
niki
Comment by niki — April 4, 2009 @ 7:52 pm
Dear Mr Zable, some years ago, in the Melbourne Age you wrote a piece describing the care worker in a nursing home combing your mother’s hair while they sang a little song together. It was a really beautiful piece, deeply moving and such a good example of they very best way to look after our frail elders. I work for Alzheimers Australia and would love to acquire a copy of this article again as I have lost the original. Could you please tell me how I could track it down? I love all your books, and reread them often, your sincerely, Sally Koodiaroff
Comment by Sally Koodiaroff — August 5, 2009 @ 11:22 am
Dear Arnold,
You probably won’t remember me – Shauna McIntyre – I met you at the 4 Rs conference in Sydney last year. 12 months later, my husband and I are preparing for our first trip to Ithaca, as a result of your moving talk (at the conference dinner) about themes of place, belonging, migration etc … and especially the story about your time on Ithaca, out on a walk with your wife, when the rained poured down, and you were ‘taken in’ by a long time local woman. I have subsequently read Cafe Scheherazade, which I loved, and have only now seen your latest book, which I must get a copy of before arriving in Ithaca. I will write more about your books and writing when I have more time, but for now I wondered whether you had any thoughts you wanted to share, about Ithaca, to an Australian who is about to venture over for about 10 days. We leave on November 1, via Scotland! Anyway, as a result of reading this blog, I might try to look up Catherine Rombotis. With warm thanks for sharing your stories, Shauna.
Comment by Shauna McIntyre — October 15, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
Dear Arnold,
Just a quick note to thank you for a very interesting, in fact, fascinating talk at the Sunbury Library last night [10th November]. Sorry that I was unable to purchase your books that I’ve not yet read, turning up with no cash on hand as I did!!
As mentioned, I have particularly enjoyed playing the songs and music from the CD related to ‘The Fig Tree’ which I have made a point of doing a number of times over recent years on my various community radio programs on Sunbury’s 3NRG [99.3FM], and at the same time, have read selections from that book.
I look forward to catching up with those stories I’ve not yet read, and especially the ‘next’ production!
Best wishes for future writings and explorations,
Bill Kirk [Sunbury]
Comment by Bill Kirk — November 11, 2009 @ 11:17 am
Dear Arnold,
we have a couple of common friends – Meir Eidelson, Mark Silver, Tommi Kalinski, and probably others. i am originally from Melbourne, though I have been living in Israel over the past 36 years. i came to a talk you gave at the Bnai Brith about 18 months ago while home on a family visit, and was enchanted. We spoke briefly on the phone before i left. I read your “Cafe Schererazade” on the plane home and subsequently ‘Jewels and And Ashes” and found both to be inspiring works. As an adolescent in Melbourne I frequented that very cafe with those same friends, and came from a survivor home. You captured the people and the place’s special atmosphere superbly.
I am also involved in human rigths here in Israel, as you might know, and have been working on a novel as well. You invited me to write to you, but I got so busy on my return that i didn’t make the time. I would be interested in corresponding if you are too.
Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann (formerly Jon Green of Melbourne), Rabbis For Human Rights, Israel
Comment by Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann — December 10, 2009 @ 1:15 am
Dear Arnold,
You may remember I wrote to you a year or so ago about my journey to Berlin to hear Maria Farantouri in concert. This trip was inspired by my reading of The Fig Tree and the music recorded for the book which included Maria singing the magnificent Song of Songs. I have since read several of your books which I have found equally inspirational. My next plan is a trip to Greece where I hope to see Maria perform again. I look forward to your next book and let me know if you ever succeed in convincing Maria to visit Australia!
Regards
Deb Parish. Lismore NSW
Comment by Deb Parish — January 14, 2010 @ 10:49 am
Dear Arnold,
today in the National Art Gallery Shop I picked up a book about Literary Melbourne and in a section called Border Crossings read some of your writings on “Cafe Sheharezade”.It was lovely to re read,revisit the atmosphere of it again. and made me want to go back to the book itself and delve into it again. I am really looking forward to seeing it on stage this year at 45 Downstairs with the music too.Happy new Year to you may it be filled with peace and happiness and HEALTH! and may you and others continue to celebrate people’s voices in humanity and human rights through your inspiring writings. Thankyou
warm regards Kavisha Mazzella
Comment by Kavisha — January 18, 2011 @ 8:28 pm
Dear Arnold,
I am one of you students in Guizhou Agriculture College. Please contact with me by Email: qzhp88@163.com.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Qi
Comment by Qi Zhiping — April 16, 2011 @ 2:07 pm
Dear Arnold,
The novel I was working on when I spoke to you a year ago is now finished and will be coming out with Chaim Mazo Books here in Jerusalem in a couple of weeks. It is called “Far Away From Where?” and tells the dramatic story of two survivors of the Holocaust in search of a home in the immediate postwar period. Is there any chance that you might be interested in having a look at it, and if you like it recommend it to other readers/writers?
Thanks
Yehiel
Comment by Yehiel Grenimann — July 15, 2011 @ 7:18 pm
Arnold, thank you for the privilege of being able to sit at the feet of a very caring and sensitive master.
The VERY brief time we had talking, was enough to affirm / reaffirm that I should open the door and let the story guide me on how it wants to be written.
It was well worth making the trip from New Zealand to Sydney. I feel I have finally been given permission to open doors that are covered in cobwebs, both my doors and those of previous generations.
What a pity we didn’t have time to share a coffee after the workshop.
That fishing boat experience was only a small facet, but it, with it’s fellow seedling stories, is now being very closely studied to determine how to end things.
This probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, as per usual he has let his mouth run away ahead of where he is heading, I just wanted to say I felt very privileged being able to attend one of your classes, and to actuasly meet you and spend a few minutes talking made the hassle of traveling from New Zealand to Sydney worth all the inconvenience.
Al Ferguson
AMP
Comment by Al Ferguson — October 8, 2011 @ 11:27 pm
Al,
Great to hear from you. You comment reminds me, it is time for me to blog more regularly. It was great to meet you and to have you in the workshop. I was very moved that you travelled all the way from NZ to do the workshop. I loved your fishing boat story. This is all you needed to open the door to other stories. I often say in talks and workshops these days, that to begin a story, a book, a novel, all you need is that first paragraph, or that first story. Once the door is open you are on your way. One story leads to another, one memory begets another, one thread leads to another. In this way the writing is an exploration, and this creates a natural tension. The reader senses this and goes on the journey with you.
The stories in my latest book ‘Violin Lessons’ are all explorations. And they all carefully woven threads around a central thread. In each story I discovered new threads, and followed them. It is like seeing a new track opening up, branching off from the main track, and having the curiosity and daring to follow it. If it proves a dead end, it doesn’t matter, and more often than not, it opens up new dimensions. I love this aspect of writing and i have come to rust the process. So ion the title story of ‘Violin Lessons’ I begin with returning to the violin after a long absence, which leads me to memories of my music teacher, which in turn leads me to Naji Cohen who once played violin in Baghdad. In the process I discover links and plot lines, and unexpected symmetries, I would never have imagined. The same applies to all the stories.
Let’s continue this discussion Al, and hope that others join us. Storytelling is an art with countless possibilities…
Comment by Arnold Zable — October 20, 2011 @ 12:00 pm
Dear Arnold,
Many thanks for all of your encouragement and advice over the series of Express Yourself workshops. In the scarce five months since I embraced creative writing as a means of exploring the experience of Black Saturday I have found great therapeutic benefits through ‘ex’-pression (to borrow your emphasis). I have also rediscovered my love of writing and new loves, poetry and performance. It would give me joy to join a discussion about the craft of writing. My poems sometimes describe a moment or thought, but at other times I try to employ a narrative thread to draw the reader with me. After today’s workshop I am now toying with the idea of a short story/memoir based around the departure from my home. In the meantime I will work on the poem based around my son’s memories and another on the notion of languid chaos.
With the greatest of respect, Kim
Comment by Kim — October 29, 2011 @ 7:17 pm
Great to hear from you Kim. I like your idea for a memoir/short story. What impressed me about the prose piece you wrote in the workshop is the shift from first person to second person, then return to the first person. You have quickly established two major threads. This is what the art of story allows. After several decades of writing, I am more acutely aware of this. I have trust in the process now. Just get a story going, and the journey begins, and new byways and ‘threads’ open up. When they do, I allow myself to follow them. Perhaps the most striking example in the new book ‘Violin Lessons’ is the final tale ‘the Ancient Mariner’. In the very first passage Amal Basry walks the banks of the Tigris with her father as a child in Baghdad, and he sings to her the songs of Umm Khultum, the grand diva of Arabic music. Later in that piece I follow the thread of Umm Khultum, which leads me to the music shop in Sydney Road, and as it turns out, a deeper understanding of Amal Basry, her passions, and the power of her storytelling. Through following the threads the story leads the writer, and eventually the reader to unexpected places.
Comment by Arnold Zable — November 1, 2011 @ 1:03 pm
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Comment by sorseharriette — December 11, 2011 @ 3:33 pm