“A word already spoken, lives on”, Academician Andrei Sakharov said from exile in the dark days of 1980. “The human…
Tatyana Velikanova, 1932-2002
Tatyana Velikanova’s intelligent smiling face came out of the shadows only in 1979 when she was arrested for the most…
Khodasevich on Gumilyov and Blok
Alexander Blok died on 7 August and Nikolay Gumilyov twenty days later, but for me they both died on August…
The President’s Man
A short story (2003) When Shodo came in from the cumquat grove his wife said there had been a strange…
The Clock in the Sky
Visitors to the Strasbourg Cathedral tower may be surprised to confront this immense clock, screened by glass and occupying half…
“Komissarzhevskaya”
by Osip MANDELSTAM (1925) I would rather not talk about me, but track the route of the age. The roar…
“The Slow Burn”
Short Story (1990) Black people lived on one side of the row and white people on the other, with their…
From Marjorie’s Diaries (1988-1990)
Selected by Irina SAFRONOVA. I have decided to make public some excerpts from Marjorie’s diary covering her last years of…
School Notes (1967-1968)
From Marjorie’s exercise book: Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School, Class 4J (1967-1968) 1967 October 17th: …The dictionary definition of the word…
Wet Diggity
It was raining wet diggety on the way to my father’s funeral. My wipers didn’t know which way to turn. …
The Door
THE DOOR It is like a door that won’t open until you have tried it many many times. I first…
John
JOHN He was old-fashioned that boy. When he spotted me on his bike he honked his horn with his fair…
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
by Marjorie FARQUHARSON (1977) Matthew’s gospel treats Christ as king. He has come to announce the Kingdom of God to…
What I mean by “God”
What I have experienced: Reconciliation with A.A. Reconciled to glandular fever Sharing what I felt with M. Each occasion has…
“Don’t Worry: All is for the Best”
People are born infinitely capable of living; of life. This capacity is cut back and whittled away steadily until there…
Marjorie 