Originally published in Dumbo Feather. Courage might just mean discovering the lost and hidden parts of ourselves I was never a risk taker in my twenties. Not really. When confronted with a daunting challenge I usually crawled back into my comfort zone, where it was safe. I even signed up for a bungee jump in New Zealand and when I stepped up to the platform I backed out at the last minute. What happened to the adventurous boy who spent his youth climbing trees? The truth was, he had disappeared into the sanctuary of rationality—something we all do by living safe, conservative lives. It wasn’t until my late twenties that I realised being rational had its own restrictions. So in 2010 I did what any irrational person would do—I sold all my possessions and moved to Berlin. My decision was met with immediate skepticism and raised brows. I understood their concerns—I had maybe enough money to live frugally for several
The Exodus From Social Media Has Begun
If Nils Frahm Can Do It, So Can I I woke up this morning to a newsletter from one of my favorite music labels, Erased Tapes. Still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I read the headline: Nils Frahm… withdraws himself from social media. I lay back in my bed and smiled. I discovered Nils’ music in 2010 just after I moved to Berlin (for 2 years). In winter I would walk through the cobblestone streets, thick with sleet, listening to his album Felt. I was immediately transported. Each piece sounded fresh, heart wrenching and life affirming — an avant-garde brew of modern-classical and electronica that spoke directly to my dislocated spirit. Nils’ music quickly became the soundtrack to my new home. So when Nils announced he was withdrawing from social media this week, I took his message seriously. “Dear friends, This page is soon not going to be active anymore. After giving it serious thought, I have concluded that Facebook will be
ONE IN A THOUSAND
My short story ‘One in a Thousand’ received Third Place in Issue #32 for On the Premises. Their prompt was: We challenged contestants to write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which a character (not necessarily the main character, but one important to the story) almost dies.
In the end they received 377 contest entries and chose six stories for prizes.
The Importance of Feeling Wonder
This article has been my most popular piece written for Medium thus far. I suppose it has touched people because of its overall theme: mysteries are bigger than us. I do believe people want to feel more connected to the universe. ‘Our’ world and the societies we have built, are becoming faster, more stressful and we seem to be losing our ability to truly connect with each other in a meaningful way. Perhaps we should stop glaring down into our screens and cast our eyes up into the night sky. Who knows what we’ll discover.
HOME, LIKE DYING EMBERS (part 3)
In ‘Home, Like Dying Embers’ part 3 we meet Parker – a trumpet player with a troubled soul and a love for his instrument. Parker is a man who believes his life is full of intangible things, even his girlfriend seems intangible, but perhaps it is full of mysteries waiting to be revealed.
Arc of the Meridian
Arc of the Meridian is a poem I wrote earlier this year. It has finally found a home at Drunk Moneys and will be published in early 2019.
Parasomnias
Parasomnias is a poem I wrote earlier this year. It has finally found a home at Drunk Moneys and will be published in early 2019.
HOME, LIKE DYING EMBERS (part 2)
In part 2 of ‘Home, Like Embers’ Hannah sets out on her journey to show her sick father the old photograph of the family. But along the way she follows the sound of jazz and meets an exotic stranger.
HOME, LIKE DYING EMBERS (part 1)
Home, Like Dying Embers is a weekly – fortnightly story series and bit of an experiment in self discipline. One of the problems many writers face is the inability to finish what they begin, including me. And while I don’t believe in lumping all your stories onto your blog, I do believe in sprinkling them out like fairy dust … let them exist … breathe or eventually splutter and die. Live and learn. But let them exist. Another reason I began this story is to play with prose. You can map out a story (called plotting and not overly recommended) or you can let your characters follow their feet. This is what Home, Like Embers is all about, seeing where my characters will go next; inspired by a recent writing workshop with the wonderful Claire Keegan. Some of the characters are also based on my experiences while living in Berlin, and they are rarely exaggerated, merely reshaped. The story begins with Hannah and her life in Berlin as she decides to return a family photograph to her dying father. I hope you enjoy this series. – Jakob
