“To speak a second language is to have a second soul,” Charlemagne said. Each language has unique expressions and images that we can use to express ourselves, to see the world in a new way. At the age of six I started to learn English, after starting classes in an American school in Holland. IContinue reading “My Second Soul”
Author Archives: alicemchacon
Nostalgia…
It’s been 9 years since I last visited Venezuela, the country where I was born and spent much of my childhood. The name used to be synonymous with beauty and oil wealth. Now, it’s an experiment in how dictatorship and corruption can cripple a country, trigger the worst humanitarian crisis in the hemisphere and divideContinue reading “Nostalgia…”
The Child’s Voice
I discovered the pleasure of reading at age six, when I walked into a library for the first time (“I can really take these home?”) By middle school, I dreamed of writing and sharing my voice. I’ve written a few short stories, which remain unpublished, and was a journalist in a previous lifetime. Now, IContinue reading “The Child’s Voice”
The Perfect Prose
It’s every writer’s dream: to write prose that is clear but also beautiful and captivating. Authors like Hemingway have made short, concise sentences into their own style. Others, like Saramago, have sentences that span almost a full page. Where do you add more description? Where do you keep it crisp? I like this quote fromContinue reading “The Perfect Prose”
Finding a voice…
If you’ve ever thought of writing, you know how hard it is to start. What do I write about? Some people are like Pirandello, with one or more characters following them incessantly, looking for life on the page. For others, it means traveling, researching, or for the really lucky, going deep inside and finding aContinue reading “Finding a voice…”
It’s never too late to start…
Like so many of you, I wanted to change the world once. Life had other plans. I reached adulthood just as Chavez was ascending to power in Venezuela. That changed everything for so many. I’m one of the fortunate ones. I spend the last decade building a life here in Canada, focused on more practicalContinue reading “It’s never too late to start…”
My Writing Story 