Been a while ...

Haven't posted in years. Does this even work and is anyone automatically receiving this via email? Please email me if you do.

Ara Sarafian is a writer and editor from Narrm/Melbourne.

He has been published in The Saturday Paper, The Lifted Brow, Kill Your Darlings, The Big Issue, The Near and the Far anthology and various other publications.

He was an inaugural recipient of the Wheeler Centre's Next Chapter award in 2018.

Ara was selected for the 2016 WrICE fellowship in China, shortlisted for the 2015 Monash Creative Writing Prize and shortlisted for the 2022 Deborah Cass Prize for Writing.

He has taught in RMIT's Professional Writing and Editing program and currently works as an editor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Ara lives and works on Wurundjeri land.

Riding horses and other animals in Paris

Le Carrousel De La Tour Eiffel

The modern carousel emerged from early jousting traditions in Europe and the Middle East. Knights would gallop in a circle while tossing balls from one to another.

Spinning in circles for enlightenment

Amazing whirling dervishes in Cairo, Egypt.

A dervish is a Sufi Muslim who had taken vows of poverty and austerity. Dervishes first appear in the twelfth century, and are known for their whirling dance.

Dancers will spin around and around and around in an attempt to reach religious ecstasy. I watched one poor sod whirl around continuously for what seemed like thirty minutes.

To the outsider, it looks like the whirler is in an ecstatic trance. The aim is to reach the source of all perfection, by abandoning all ego or personal desires, and by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning in repetitive circles.

I think it also might help if you smoke or snort a little something first.

The Al-Tannoura Egyptian Heritage Dance Troup  performs at the Wekalet El-Ghouri Arts Center, Cairo, every Saturday, Monday and Wednesday.

The importance of being hairy: waxing, shaving and other unnecessary thrills

[First published on Kill Your Darlings, July 2015]

In case you're wondering, this is not me. (Image credit: Glen Bowman)

You must touch my chest hair. It feels like the underbelly of a Persian cat. A thicker hairline snakes down the middle of my torso and then fans out to the sides, onto my back and over my shoulders. When I go to parties I invite friends (and new acquaintances… and strangers) to run their hands through my magical carpet. They stare in horror as I lift my shirt. ‘Real men have hair,’ I say.

Opera Australia's magnificent production of Rigoletto

[First published on The Plus Ones]

 

Opera Australia's production of Verdi’s Rigoletto offers an experience of gorgeous music and magnificent singing, acting, and visual design.

From the powerful overture, which foreshadows the tone of the narrative, to the dramatic final curtain, this production enthrals the audience. If you ever see one opera, let it be this — you may discover a new passion.

True colours

The Big Issue, Australia, Number 548 (20 Oct  2 Nov 2017)

Here is my piece that was published in The Big Issue Australia:

The other day, my friends and I were trying to decide between two logo designs – both were identical except that one was Steel Blue and the other was Bubblegum Pink. I said I liked the blue one. “Every white male over thirty loves that one,” one friend said. Everyone laughed, but the comment left me feeling conflicted. I am male and over thirty, and I guess most people would describe my skin as white – on a colour chart it would grade somewhere between Blanched Almond and Papaya Whip – but I’ve never felt white.

My visionary toilet won me a tablet computer

A few months ago when I was using a toilet at Sydney Airport, I noticed a sign on the wall advertising a "Rate Your Experience" competition.

Challenge accepted.

(I answered generously. I didn't want anyone to lose their job. I'm not a monster.)

(My answer is below, with visual aids, so that you may appreciate the full scope of my vision.)

Vestmannaeyjar: the Westman Islands of Iceland

Vestmannaeyjar ("Westman Islands") is a small group of islands off the south coast of Iceland. The main island, Heimaey,  has a tiny area of only 13 square kilometres and is still volcanically active.

Opera Australia's grand production of Carmen

[First published on The Plus Ones] 

Opera Australia’s colourful production of Carmen brings vibrancy, movement, and fun to Georges Bizet’s otherwise dark tale.

Director John Bell has created a vivid atmosphere to accompany the gorgeous score. Eye-catching costumes offer an explosion of colour and the detailed set has the romantic feel of a Cuban town stuck in a 1950s time warp. Crisp choreography brings even more life to the stage, including dazzling acrobatics from the children’s chorus, which leaves the audience gasping.