FEAST OR FAMINE

The Travels of Marco Polo has become quite controversial over the years. Was Polo one of the greatest travelers or was he one of the greatest liars? When Polo returned to his hometown of Venice, his city was at war with Genoa, and Polo was imprisoned for about a year in Genoa. It is said that with his notes beside him, he dictated the tales of his travels to a fellow prisoner, Italian writer Rustigielo (Rustichello da Pisa). Rustigielo indicated that his travelogue, written in 1298, is authentic. (The edition I have is edited by Manuel Komroff and translated by William Marsden.) Polo’s mother had died and his father was living in Constantinople (Istanbul) when Marco Polo (1254-1324), from Venice, Italy, embarked on the journey of his life in 1271 at 17 years of age, with his father, Nicolo, and his father’s brother, Maffeo. He returned in 1295 when he was 41. Of the 24 years traveling, he spent 17 of them in the company of of Kublai Khan (1215-1294), Mongol emperor whom...

A charity event, called Kindness is Always Fashionable, will be held from April 28-10, 2015, in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Women’s Fund in Georgia, with the support of Europe House, organized the event involving the exhibition and sale of fashion from well-known Georgian designers. Fashion items include clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery, and scarves, as well as postcards. Donations from the sale of Kindness is Always Fashionable event, as well as other donations, will support the beneficiaries of the gender-based violence survivors’ group, Survivors for the Future. The event is held in Europe House, Freedom Square, in Tbilisi.

The House on Mango Street (1984, 25 th anniversary edition 2009) is set in Chicago in 1980. It is written in the first person: a 23-and-a-half year old Latina woman. Esperanza Cordero’s father wanted his daughter to be a TV weather presenter, or marry and have children. Her mother said she was born on an evil day. Esperanza wants to be a writer, while working during the day with disadvantaged youth. Esperanza reflects on her childhood and neighbourhood in a part of Chicago that people are afraid of. “They think we’re dangerous,” she writes, yet when they go “into a neighbourhood of another color” they too are afraid. This is no picture of a happy life for many characters in this book. Esperanza’s life is revealed through a series of micro-vignettes, writing of her friends, relatives, and acquaintances through the eyes of a child. Times are not favourable for the women who are beaten or assaulted or marry early or go without or never fulfil their dreams and aspira...

Anton Chekhov: A Brother’s Memoir (1933, English version 2010) is the biography of Russian physician and author, most noted for his short stories. The third of six children (1869-1904), the memoir is written by the youngest child, Mikhail (1865-1936). Mikhail was 68 years old when he commenced the memoir, originally called Around Chekhov: Encounters and Impressions. Like his famous brother, Mikhail was also a writer of short stories, but in addition he wrote theatre reviews and children’s tales, as well as translating texts (nicknamed “English Grammar”). Born in Taganrog, southern Russia, Anton moved to Moscow in 1879, three years after his family, to join his two eldest brothers, Alexander and Nikolay, who were studying at University, and the rest of the family due to financial problems. Their poor financial situation defined their life in Moscow, where Anton assumed responsibility for supporting his family. Here the brothers, and Nikolay an illustrator, submitted articl...

The European Union had 10 million fewer children (aged less than 15 years old) in 2014 than 20 years ago in 1994. In the EU in 1994 there were 18.6% of children of the total population and in 2014 there were 15.6%. The number of children decreased in every European country except Denmark. Ireland had the most children and Germany had the least. The largest reduction in children occurred in Cyprus (8.9% reduction of the total population of children in the EU), followed by Poland (8.7% reduction), Slovakia (8.2% reduction), and Malta (8.0% reduction). The largest percentages of children in 2014 were in Ireland (22% of total EU population of children under 15 years), France (18.6%), the United Kingdom (17.6%), Denmark (17.2%), Sweden (17.1%), and Belgium (17.0%). In 2014 the lowest percentages of children were in Germany (13.1%), Bulgaria (13.7%), and Italy (13.9%). By 2050 the percentage of children is expected to continue its dec...