Flame, Glass and Ink are Poems, essays, and reading notes by Stefania Joori Suh

Tag: creative writing

  • The Avonlea Story – Existential Episode on the Collies and Ms. Cubert

    IMG_3732It has been almost over five good years since the Collies have immigrated to Elysia from Scotland. By now the family has well settled into the ways of life in their adopted home country, especially their beloved town of Avonlea, which has become their hometown. After all, anywhere can be anyone’s home as long as it feels comfortable and peaceful, if not exactly welcoming. Besides, if the customs and languages are similar to those of your native country, the process of acclimation is comparatively smooth without Herculean challenges. So in this respect the Collies have lucked out thus far.

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    The Collies live in Avonlea, a suburb of Charlottetown where Paul Collie, the head of the household works as a manager of the Food Department at Diamond Trading Corporation. His resourceful wife Laura Collie works at home as a part-time seamstress, making and altering clothes, curtains, and tablecloths on order from her clients who all have heard about Laura’s finesse in sewing and knitting and crocheting from the grapevine of Avonlea and even Charlottetown.

    In fact, Laura owes her craftsmanship to her great Aunt Meena in Edinburgh, Scotland who used to own her own embroidery shop until her death six years ago. It was also this embroidery store where Paul and Laura had met together for the first time, which led them to walking down the aisle of the Church of Our Lady in Danube three years later and taking a marital vow of faithfulness, love, and understanding. There were moments when both Paul and Laura adhered to what they thought infallibly right but the sacred promise before the altar always won. Their faith always won. Moreover, Paul and Laura are always happy to work hard for their darling Lana, a dainty bright seven-year old girl who is always eager to help others in need.

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    Recently, Lana has taken up a piano lesson under the tutelage of Ms. Brenda Cubert, a spinster who is finely conversant in classic literature, impressionist paintings, baroque/classical/romantic/ancient Greek music, and European history. Ms. Cubert thinks that Lana has a musical talent because of her quick sense of rhythm, aptitude for improvising melodies without musical notes, and her unalloyed appreciation of beauty of music and the Arts in general.

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    But this is what Ms. Cubert thinks to herself; she keeps everything to herself in fear of jinx, for she believes that if she says something good about anything, about herself included, things will suddenly turn sour and belligerent against her… To dismiss it mindless superstition of a spinster is a great injustice to her fine quality as an individual of deep intellectual curiosity and as a woman of sophisticated sensibility and delicate disposition. Such brooding inclination rather arises out of her  empirically shaped mode of thinking due to her eggshell sensitivity. Notwithstanding all of this intricacies of her mind, Ms. Cubert is all intelligence, all beauty, and all kindness.

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    You can get used to just about anything.” In certain cases, the adage seems to be in effect, such as in the case of the Collies whose life as a family of immigrants is quite smooth and placid. To them moving into Elysia, in this cozy town of Avonlea is akin to moving to a commonwealth of The Great Suhsland under the reign of Queen Stephana  whose sovereignty also includes Scotland. Whether or not it is this cultural similarities or affinities that facilitates their adjustment to the new land, the Collies will always remain a strong family bound by responsibilities and duty and love and understanding as Paul and Laura promised to each other in the matrimonial ceremony before the altar. Sempre fidelis, that is.

    *Extra Feature

    This is my very first experimental video featuring the panorama of the diverse residents in the town of Avonlea. All of the cast and setting are decorated and posed by myself. For those of you who have already read one of my short episodes about these folks might be familiar with them. The purpose of this video is to convey the leitmotif of the episodes I sometime write about these little residents vividly in combination with music which I deem humorously fit the whole idea of the story itself. In future, I plan to make a series of short stop motion animated films on these figures.

  • Bluebird Interview

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    She was born when Saturn and Uranus were housed in the Aquarius. That says pretty much about her. The Aquarian are known for their independent spirits, compassionate and caring nature, and unquenchable wants of knowledge, all enveloped in mysterious estrangement even among the crowds. Yet, Stephanie, the writer and the editor of her two-year old Web log, “The Stylus,” (formally known as “Offbeat) is generally quite approachable and genial although she is never too loquacious at a first meeting. In fact, you might find her quite interesting to talk to, especially when you strike up a conversation with her about books written by classical writers or about history, dogs, or cultures. And if any of these appertains to one of her writings published on her digital log, “The Stylus,” you will see her soul being elevated to the ether with her eyes sparkling like stars on the Persian night sky. On Monday morning at a cozy cafe in Avonlea, Bluebird had the pleasure sitting down  with a cup of warm hazelnut coffee to talk with her about her blog, from the inception, the purpose, and the future thereof.

    BD: Hi, Stephanie. As Oscar Wilde has said that a woman who would reveal her age would tell anything about her, I won’t ask you how old you are because I suspect that you will not anyhow.

    Stephanie: I appreciate your judiciousness. (Smile) And yes, you are right in saying that I won’t tell you my age. (Smile) But I am neither teen-aged nor maturely aged, single, like one of those 10 vestals in the ancient Roman Empire. (Smile)

    BD: Okay, then let’s start talk about your Web log. What was the idea behind the creation of this log of yours? Did it occur to you all of sudden that you wanted to have yours like everyone else?

    Stephanie: Well, I first started thinking about having my writing log about 2 years ago. I had always wanted to write things about what I liked and to convey it in written letters because I think writing revels one’s soul in his/her genuine self without worrying about the physical appearance and how to present the self externally in public. In that regard, writing is non-discriminating of all social and biological differences. And I always thought that in people’s writings I could see the intelligence and nature of the writers because people would tell about their innermost feelings by means of writing rather than by speaking, which I think, sometimes seems a bit pompous and artful.

    BD: So, is this why you came to create your blog to write about what you think and feel that cannot be shared by speaking in public?

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    Stephanie: Partly so. And partly it’s because writing seems easier to communicate than speaking, which requires of me instantaneous faculty with dialogue that necessitates breaking from shyness. You see, English is not my mother tongue. Being a native Korean, the language differences between the two languages are as wide and deep as the Pacific Ocean: The English belongs to the Indo-European lingual family, while the Korean to the Ural-Altai to which the Japanese, the Turkish, the Finnish, and the Hungarian also belong. The syntax and the grammar are of course very different. So, it will be much different from, say, someone from any Western European country speaking and writing English because Western European languages belong to the same family as the English. Nevertheless, I want to break from such syntactical, grammatical, and literary inhibitions to craft the art of writing, just as Jack Kerouac felt the same about it.

    BD: That’s a sublime motivation to create your blog. Then how about the name of your blog? It has recently gone through some changes…

    Stephanie: Yes, indeed. But for the good reasons. First, it was started as “Offbeat” because one of the teachers at the language school I currently work at told me that my blog seemed to carry this offbeat vibes, a sort of New York feel, the independence, the avant-garde spirit that knew no boundary of subject matters of writing. So I thought it was a cool name for my blog and kept it until the last week. But suddenly I came to think that it needed name changing just for a change of scenery; you know the kind of moment when you want to reinvent your image with a new haircut.

    BD: Okay, Stephanie. By the way, what are your readers like? Do you have many followers?

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    Stephanie: To be honest with you, I am more concerned about the qualitative likes I get for what I write from fellow bloggers who also love writing and publish qualitative posts by which I mean the writings, such as musings, creative stories, poems, and/or book reviews. The reason I say this is that recently there has been someone who creates several unsolicited blogs that only contain commercial stuff, copied works of others, or nothing just to get to my blog. And I tell you that I only appreciate the likes from those qualitative bloggers. And I also tell you that I don’t appreciate those of illegitimate ones’ likes. How do I know they are illegitimate? Well, can you like my writing as soon as I publish? That means that person does not bother to read my writing, which I take it as an offense.

    BD: Who is that one plaguing your blog with empty likes? Have you done something about it?

    Stephanie: First, that one appeared in my spam comment section. He said he liked my blog and asked for some advice of writing. I think I was too naive to even reply to him, thinking that he was going to have his meaningful blog filled with writings, but no… I should have never done that…. This is my character flaw; that I bring trouble and pain on myself through pity and compassion… In that respect, I sympathize with Katherine Cookson, who said the same thing in her memoir Before I go, about which I have also written.

    BD: You must be really frustrated with that person… Sorry to hear that.

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    Stephanie: I even contacted an engineer at wordpress. about this issue in effort of stopping him from visiting my blog, but was told that because it’s in a public domain, there’s no way I could do that… And you know it’s really disheartening to see it happening in my blog because it is a sheer form of sabotage to my blog because my blog is not an object of popularity… Although my current followers are 52, what I care about is my works being duly appreciated by fellow writers, amateur or professional. Nevertheless, I don’t want to canvass for liking my writings. It’s just not me. But if you like any of my writings in terms of the contents regardless of any grammatical errors, that makes me feel fulfilled. And any comment is always welcome.

    Don’t be shy to comment on any of my posts because I am a human being, too! (Smile)

    BD: Stephanie, I understand how you care about your blog and your love of writing in this interview. Any word to your readers?

    Stephanie: I just want my readers to know that I write because I like to portray what I feel about things in my heart in poetry and what I think about books I read in my mind in belief that taste and reason is universal in all human creatures regarding principles of judgment and of sentiment common to all mankind, as Edmund Burke averred in his essay On Taste. So Many Thanks to You, Dear Readers with My Whole Heart.

    BD: Thank you, Stephanie. I hope your writings will have a wide range of loyal noble readership.

    Stephanie: Thanks! Have a lovely day!

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  • The Arrival of the Beaver

    Calico Times (Click here to read the article.)

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    At the outset of the new year, which is also Year of Dog, a new family lands at Littleton Airport in the vicinity of Avonlea with their new hopes and aspirations. The Calico Times, which is the one and only newspaper in Avonlea, welcomes the new family wholeheartedly as new residents of Avonlea with a heartwarming report of their arrival.

    Meet the Beaver from England: the household is headed by Paul Beaver, an able mechanic with amazing technical dexterity and a heart of gold. Brenda Beaver, his better half, is a full-time homemaker, administering the domestic affairs while her husband is working outside the home for the family. In fact, Mrs. Beaver regards housekeeping as a formidable domain of work, contrary to the received idea of the work as drudgery or menial labor degraded by women nowadays. Betty and Wille are their adorable and bright children. They have inherited the good qualities from their parents but are by no means spoiled, thanks to the child rearing balanced with loving care and discipline.

    So the new family will start their life anew in a new land with auspicious thinking and go-aheaditiveness. Also, they are happy to reunite with their good friends, the Collie from Scotland.  In fact, the Beaver will stay a week at the Collie until they find a new abode in the town. Let’s make good wishes for the Beaver!

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  • At the cafe on a New Year’s Day

    NEws Article about the upgraded cafe   (Click here for the cafe scenes)

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    Benjamin Franklin in his Autobiography advises his reader for the New Year to resolve to perform what he ought and perform without fail what he resolves. Mrs. Lompstrompf’s bakery whose official business name is “Rilakuma Cafe” is accordingly decorated anew with a variety of new snacks at affordable prices to accommodate the little ones’ pocket money. How thoughtful and generous the proprietor is! There is seldom anyone like Mrs. Lompstrompf in these days.

    So after wishing Happy New Year to their families and friends, the little ones gather in their elbow room in Avonlea. What is better than uplifting your spirits with sweets and refreshments in a wintry afternoon?

    The little ones are busy talking about their new year’s resolutions and plans among themselves, and listening to them makes anyone smile at their innocent wishes and simple hopes for the future, which is a prerogative of the young at heart.

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  • Episode VI – Ramen soup for the soul

    Ramen night   (Click here for the ramen dinner)

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    It’s a frightfully cold night tonight; so cold that it will freeze your toes out if you forget to wear your socks or have holes in your shoes. Boreas. god of the North wind in collaboration with the White Witch are at their zenith to in this time of the year and orchestrate the symphony of arctic winter in Avonlea, where the little residents gather together at home to warm their bodies and jettison their sprites from frigid cold.

    Of all kinds of soup that can provide both delicacy and warm to the body and the soul of the Avonlea residents, they have chosen Ramen unanimously because (1) you can cook it in 10 minutes by putting the ramen noodle in the boiling water with ready-made seasonings in it; (2) there is a variety of flavors you can choose, such as vegetable, beef, chicken, and shrimp; (3) you can mix it with lots of creative additions, such as dumplings, battered eggs, cheese, minced scallops, tempura, fried shrimps, or tofu to your liking; and (4) a package of instant ramen noodle is pleasingly inexpensive. Hence, it is nicknamed – somewhat endearingly- “a poor soul’s victual” in some Far Eastern countries, such as Korea and Japan.

    So here the repast of ramen noodle soup for the family. Tom is especially good at cooking a delicious bowl of the noodle soup for his friend Fred and himself.  The night is still young and  cold, but their home is warm and cozy. It seems that “God is in his heaven, and all’s well with this world.”

  • Episode V: Spaghetti Evening

    A Spaghetti Dinner  (Click here, and it will take you to the House where you can read the dinner story with pictures of the characters.)

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    Last thursday was a spaghetti evening at Mrs. Lompstrompf’s house, where Sally and Mathilda lodged. Sally was still recovering from a serious case of abscess on her neck due to her weak immune system for being anemic. The medication Dr. Humbug had prescribed to  her was Ajaxcillin/TMP 800/169 MG TB, which was to be taken twice per day. It’s an antibiotic, and Sally took 2 tablets a day religiously with her hands supplicant for a quick healing of the wound. The effect of the medication dovetailed with its name derived from Ajax the Great, a towering figure and great warrior of valor and strength fighting alongside Achilles and other famous Greeks against Trojans. One portant tablet would make Sally dizzy and her stomach feel light. No feeling of hunger would be shed over her. In a way, Sally thought this could be an opportunity to  lose some weight.

    But Sally was prabably not meant to be thin because she could not resist the wonderful aroma of Mrs. Lompstromfp’s spaghetti. Mrs. Lompstrompf had receipts from her old Grandmother in Norway, the land of fjords and the Norse gods and goddesses, where her relatives were still thriving on their homemade dairy products.  Her spaghetti surpassed the most authentically Italian made one in flavor, texture, and contents filled with genuine affection for cooking and caring for whoever would taste her culinary blessing.

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    So Sally gladly joined the dinner table with Mrs. Lompstrompf and partook in a convivial conversation. She talked about her Web log activities, how much she liked writing anything that came to her mind, such as poetry, novellas, and book reviews although the works published were not widely recognized. Upon hearing this from Sally, the good old Norwegian lady gently encouraged Sally’s somewhat downcast spirit by saying, “Sally, but your writings are all original, written bottomless from the bottom of your mind. And besides, you are writing in a language that is foreign to you when all these other people write in their own tongues. ast out literary, grammatical, and syntactical inhibition when you write. Be like Hercules whose confidence equals that of gods and goddess.”

    With this inspiring word of advice and encouragement from the saintly lady, Sally suddenly felt a rush of appetite that had been quelled by the antibiotic agents, thus joyously enjoyed the delicious spaghetti. Anything coming from Mrs. Lompstrompf was opposite to deceit, flattery, and lie. She talked only truth like an oracle at Delphi. Surely, the spaghetti tasted better than ambrosia or nectar.

    fa8e830c9e8170c16507cc49b7b0aeb7And what about Mathilda, another boarder? She was in her melancholic mood again, so she stayed in her room. It’s not that she felt uncomfortable with both of the ladies but that it was her nature to be solitary once in a while. She was by  the way a writer like Sally. Both Sally and Mathilda kept their traveler’s notebooks in which  they wrote their journals and drafted what they would post on their Web logs.

    So it was a nice warm Thursday evening dinner. Sally’s spirit was emboldened by Mrs. Lompstompf’s truthful revelation, and her wound on the neck seemed to heal considerably. Sometimes, everyone needs good food for the mind and the body because as the ancient Greeks said, “Mens sana in corpore sano.” (A sound mind dwells in a healthy body.)