Writing

 

 I wrote my first story when I was 14, and deeply affected by the Lebanon War that took place 60 KM (35 miles) or so from my hometown. I let my Literature teacher  read it, and she said that I should wait a few years, and then re-read it.  I made a mistake and read it again when I was 16 -  and then destroyed it. Most of the things I had done by 16, and almost my entire world seemed too awkward and pathetic at the time. And here's a lesson for you kids: when your Lit. teacher tells you to re-read a story in a few years, it is better to wait for many years.

It took me a good 10-11 years to get back to  writing fiction. It was a year or so after I came out of the closet, and stories just flew from me. It was wonderful. In March 2003 my  book of short stories, "Te'enim, Ahuvati" ("Figs, My Love") was published by the publisher Shufra in Israel. Today I keep writing, at a different pace, learning how to write again with each new story. My life is different now, from what it was like when I wrote the stories in "Figs, My Love". Whatever my next project will be - a screenplay, a novel, a play or another collection of short stories - one thing is clear to me: I'm a writer. My columns, that I've been publishing for over seven years now in "At" magazine are really nothing but very short stories; In past literary columns I wrote for "Hazeman Havarod"  I wrote about my sources of inspiration (some of the books I wrote about are in the Books section here, on my website), and the articles I write tell the stories of my meetings with interesting people. Always, in any work I create, I bring myself.

Stories

Margo Eyon translated three of my stories: "Figs", "My Love", and "Passover Seder with Harrison Ford" that appeared in my book, "Figs, My Love" (the translation of the latter was edited by Ora Cummings). If you think you can help me publish my stories in English, you can contact me at: gimmel@danapeleg.com.

 

Articles

I translated some of the articles I wrote during the years, with the help of my partner, Mimi Hill who edited the translations.

"Life as a Trip" ("At" magazine, June 2000), about Rosemary Woodruf-Leary (RIP). An incredible woman, with an incredible life story, who was married to Timothy Leary during those turbulent years. I won the huge privilege of interviewing her. As the Hebrew prayer goes, I hope she found a good rest.

"Who is Afraid of Virginia?" ("At" magazine, September 2000). I love the titles the "At" editors give to my articles. This one is about the fun, colorful, historical town Fredericksburg, VA where my father in-law and his wife reside. I spent a delightful week there.

"Wonderful Grace" ("Haim Aherim", September 2002). My article about Ram Dass, the spiritual leader who underwent several transformations in one life time. He is the most enlightened person I have ever met (if there is such thing as "enlightenment"). In the Translation section of this site, you can find his story "Being Love".

"A Pionner in the Consciousness Frontier" ("Haim Aherim", October 2002) about Nita Little, a great woman, an NLP therapist, a Shaman and a Dancer from Santa Cruz, CA. I had a very thorough session with her, that brought me to new places, and opened new doors for me. I wrote about that session, and about Nita herself.

"Marifuana (Medical Marijuana) - Clouds of Compassion" ("Haim Aherim", December 2003) - Valerie and Mike Corral, pioneers of Medical Marijuana in California, are my heroes! This article is not only about the medicine and its benefits, but also about a spiritual way to conduct a social struggle. BTW, I love the word Marifuana (coined by Maayana Wechtel) - it combines the obvious word "Marijuana", with the word "Refua" (medicine, cure) in Hebrew. The name of the archangel Rafael comes from the same source. I like to think of it as a gift from the Goddess...