Our beloved Auntie Zelda died in November at the age of 92. She was one of my late father’s younger sisters, a brilliant woman who possessed great courage and smarts. She was a professional editor and an incredible reader. She particularly loved biographies and memoirs, which meant she could share several centuries worth of literary gossip, and provide intelligent commentary on just about any period of history.
She was mother to three and grandmother to six, her offspring all amazing and terrific people.
Auntie Zelda was an inspiration in many ways, but I’ll stick to her artistic endeavors. In her seventies, she took up painting and showed a new side of herself. She had always struck me as rather reserved. It turned out that her paintings were anything but. She confronted giant canvases with bold splashes of color and saw no reason to confine herself to a paint brush. Using a palette knife, she spread thick layers of paint on dozens (perhaps hundreds) of canvases. Her small apartment was transformed to an art studio. I was lucky enough to attend one of her art openings in downtown Philadelphia when she was 89 (see picture below). As she aged and her body grew weaker, she moved her walker closer to the canvas so she could sit on its little stool. If necessary, she used an oxygen tank.
Auntie Zelda was also a fantastic wordsmith. She had great fun naming her paintings—mostly abstract—things like “Rising Rhythm” (shown below) and “Shattered and Splattered.” She also wrote poetry that was edgy and profound and that stared death in the face.
As she did with all her loved ones, Auntie Zelda showed ongoing interest in my work and gave me generous encouragement. It meant so much. As we embark on a new year, I hope to share some of the energy, love, and inspiration that Auntie Zelda put out into the world.
Here’s my NPR Review of Mina Seçkin’s debut novel, The Four Humors. Seçkin is Turkish American. She gives us mouth watering Turkish meals, along with taking the lid off a lot of family secrets. My summary:
“Read The Four Humors for an insider's travelogue of Istanbul and its volatile modern political history, and for the tastes and feel of contemporary Turkish culture. Read it too, to get to know a wonderful set of characters — women in all their flaws and generosities — and for an astute account of what it means to be an immigrant in America. Finally, read it to follow one young woman's beautifully-rendered journey into her past, so that she can wrest herself from stasis and step into her future.”
Wishing you and yours good health and happiness in the new year and beyond.
Love, Martha
P.S. Here’s two wonderful musical inspirations for the new year:
The fantastic bass baritone Davóne Tines singing “The Cold Song” by Henry Purcell
Igor Levit’s breathtaking Bach-Busoni Choral Prelude BWV 639
P.P.S. ICYMI, here’s a link to the last newsletter.
