The There There Letter: Zanzibar, Zany, and Zaftig
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I occasionally lose myself.
First up this week: Zanzibar ...
Random knowledge: Where was Freddie Mercury (of Queen fame) born? Zanzibar! Britain cut loose its protectorate, Zanzibar, in late 1963. Almost immediately thereafter, the Zanzibar Revolution in January 1964 sent Freddie Mercury's family fleeing the island state for Middlesex. Exotic Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) always tickled by youthful imagination: the faraway fabulous island peculiarly painted with Englishness! I wasn't even sure, as a boy, exactly where it was. Now I know it's an archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa (the largest Zanzibar islands are Unguja and Pemba). I've also learned a bit about the Popobawa ("bat-wing" in Swahili). Stories about this sexually-assaultive shapeshifter began to circulate near the time of the Zanzibar Revolution, and panics continue, loosely linked to election cycles. Voting fraught with anxiety. Oh, wait, that's US, too.
14 Things to Know Before You Go to Zanzibar
Second up this week, Zany …
Sometimes I think I have been. Sometimes I wish I was. Sometimes (fewer times) I'm relieved I wasn't. Zany comes from Zanni, a stock Commedia dell'Arte character. I've always been charmed by the conceit of Italy's Commedia and Victorian England's Harlequinade (and Panto). Stock characters (and performers who specialize in particular characters) upon whom almost any plot can be hung. "There needs to be a part for a loud man doing a jig with a little dog ending with a spit-take!" say I, because I'll always rise for that juicy role.
Commedia Dell'arte And The Roots Of Slapstick
Third up this week, Zaftig …
Amy G of Pip Wine Bar in Dixon recently described a Zinfandel to me as having "love handles." I understood immediately. And I do like Zinfandels (and some other red wines) that give me a ripe and fleshy come-hither, so long as they can also dance. Yes, I'm a sucker for some zaftig Zins. Merriam-Webster defines zaftig: "having a full rounded figure: pleasingly plump." I also appreciate a zaftig imagination and a zaftig sense of humor. A word brimful of substantial usefulness and bountiful appeal.
Reclaiming the Yiddish Word for Curvy Women
And a bit more:
Zaftig Means Juicy
by Jessica Barksdale Inclan
Ripe and round,
I slip my finger
against the slim
band of my underwear,
slide the skin
of my dress
over my head,
plunge the fruit
of my body into a hot
tub of water that stretches
out toward ocean.
In this water,
I am Aphrodite,
simmering in her shell,
radiant, resplendent,
luscious as summer plums
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem Sometimes …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I occasionally lose myself.
First up this week: Zanzibar ...
Random knowledge: Where was Freddie Mercury (of Queen fame) born? Zanzibar! Britain cut loose its protectorate, Zanzibar, in late 1963. Almost immediately thereafter, the Zanzibar Revolution in January 1964 sent Freddie Mercury's family fleeing the island state for Middlesex. Exotic Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) always tickled by youthful imagination: the faraway fabulous island peculiarly painted with Englishness! I wasn't even sure, as a boy, exactly where it was. Now I know it's an archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa (the largest Zanzibar islands are Unguja and Pemba). I've also learned a bit about the Popobawa ("bat-wing" in Swahili). Stories about this sexually-assaultive shapeshifter began to circulate near the time of the Zanzibar Revolution, and panics continue, loosely linked to election cycles. Voting fraught with anxiety. Oh, wait, that's US, too.
14 Things to Know Before You Go to Zanzibar
Second up this week, Zany …
Sometimes I think I have been. Sometimes I wish I was. Sometimes (fewer times) I'm relieved I wasn't. Zany comes from Zanni, a stock Commedia dell'Arte character. I've always been charmed by the conceit of Italy's Commedia and Victorian England's Harlequinade (and Panto). Stock characters (and performers who specialize in particular characters) upon whom almost any plot can be hung. "There needs to be a part for a loud man doing a jig with a little dog ending with a spit-take!" say I, because I'll always rise for that juicy role.
Commedia Dell'arte And The Roots Of Slapstick
Third up this week, Zaftig …
Amy G of Pip Wine Bar in Dixon recently described a Zinfandel to me as having "love handles." I understood immediately. And I do like Zinfandels (and some other red wines) that give me a ripe and fleshy come-hither, so long as they can also dance. Yes, I'm a sucker for some zaftig Zins. Merriam-Webster defines zaftig: "having a full rounded figure: pleasingly plump." I also appreciate a zaftig imagination and a zaftig sense of humor. A word brimful of substantial usefulness and bountiful appeal.
Reclaiming the Yiddish Word for Curvy Women
And a bit more:
Zaftig Means Juicy
by Jessica Barksdale Inclan
Ripe and round,
I slip my finger
against the slim
band of my underwear,
slide the skin
of my dress
over my head,
plunge the fruit
of my body into a hot
tub of water that stretches
out toward ocean.
In this water,
I am Aphrodite,
simmering in her shell,
radiant, resplendent,
luscious as summer plums
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem Sometimes …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Please share any or all of this newsletter. It's Free every Friday!
If you’re seeing it for the first time, you can subscribe and browse past issues HERE
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to The There There: