Welcome to my blog..


"We struggle with dream figures and our blows fall on living faces." Maurice Merleau-Ponty

When I started this blog in 2011, I was in a time of transition in my life between many identities - that of Artistic Director of a company (Apocryphal Theatre) to independent writer/director/artist/teacher and also between family identity, as I discover a new family that my grandfather's name change at the request of his boss in WWII hid from view - a huge Hungarian-Slovak contingent I met in 2011. Please note in light of this the irony of the name of my recently-disbanded theatre company. This particular transition probably began in the one month period (Dec. 9, 2009-Jan. 7, 2010) in which I received a PhD, my 20 year old cat died on my father's birthday and then my father, who I barely knew, died too. I was with him when he died and nothing has been the same since. This blog is tracing the more conscious elements of this journey and attempt to fill in the blanks. I'm also writing a book about my grandmothers that features too. I'd be delighted if you joined me. (Please note if you are joining mid-route, that I assume knowledge of earlier posts in later posts, so it may be better to start at the beginning for the all singing, all dancing fun-fair ride.) In October 2011, I moved back NYC after living in London for 8 years and separated from my now ex-husband, which means unless you want your life upended entirely don't start a blog called Somewhere in Transition. In November 2011, I adopted a rescue cat named Ugo. He is lovely. As of January 2012, I began teaching an acting class at Hunter College, which is where one of my grandmothers received a scholarship to study acting, but her parents would not let her go. All things come round…I began to think it may be time to stop thinking of my life in transition when in June 2012 my stepfather Tom suddenly died. Now back in the U.S. for a bit, I notice, too, my writing is more overtly political, no longer concerned about being an expat opining about a country not my own. I moved to my own apartment in August 2012 and am a very happy resident of Inwood on the top tip of Manhattan where the skunks and the egrets roam in the last old growth forest on the island.

I am now transitioning into being married again with a new surname (Barclay-Morton). John is transitioning from Canada to NYC and as of June 2014 has a green card. So transition continues, but now from sad to happy, from loss to love...from a sense of alienation to a sense of being at home in the world.

As of September 2013 I started teaching writing as an adjunct professor at Fordham University, which I have discovered I love with an almost irrational passion. While was blessed for the opportunity, after four years of being an adjunct, the lack of pay combined with heavy work load stopped working, so have transferred this teaching passion to private workshops in NYC and working with writers one on one, which I adore. I will die a happy person if I never have to grade an assignment ever again. As of 2018, I also started leading writing retreats to my beloved Orkney Islands. If you ever want two weeks that will restore your soul and give you time and space to write, get in touch. I am leading two retreats this year in July and September.

I worked full time on the book thanks to a successful crowd-funding campaign in May 2014 and completed it at two residencies at Vermont Studio Center and Wisdom House in summer 2015. I have done some revisions and am shopping it around to agents and publishers now, along with a new book recently completed.

I now work full-time as a freelance writer, writing workshop leader, coach, editor and writing retreat leader. Contact me if you are interested in any of these services.

Not sure when transition ends, if it ever does. As the saying goes, the only difference between a sad ending and a happy ending is where you stop rolling the film.

For professional information, publications, etc., go to my linked in profile and website for Barclay Morton Editorial & Design. My Twitter account is @wilhelminapitfa. You can find me on Facebook under my full name Julia Lee Barclay-Morton. More about my grandmothers' book: The Amazing True Imaginary Autobiography of Dick & Jani

In 2017, I launched a website Our Grandmothers, Our Selves, which has stories about many people's grandmothers. Please check it out. You can also contact me through that site.

In May, I directed my newest play, On the edge of/a cure, and have finally updated my publications list, which now includes an award-winning chapbook of my short-story White shoe lady, which you can find on the sidebar. I also have become a certified yoga instructor in the Kripalu lineage. What a year!

And FINALLY, I have created a website, which I hope you will visit, The Unadapted Ones. I will keep this blog site up, since it is a record of over 8 years of my life, but will eventually be blogging more at the website, so if you want to know what I am up to with my writing, teaching, retreats and so on, the site is the place to check (and to subscribe for updates). After eight years I realized, no, I'm never turning into One Thing. So The Unadapted Ones embraces the multiplicity that comprises whomever I am, which seems to always be shifting. That may in fact be reality for everyone, but will speak for myself here. So, do visit there and thanks for coming here, too. Glad to meet you on the journey...

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Gorgeous Inwood and Rescue Kitty

Some photos below of walk I took today in Inwood Park before being gifted with a rescue cat whose name is still up for grabs.  He's as camera shy as I am, so of course my camera folded when he was out from behind the chair and my trying to take the photo sent him back behind the chair.

I've never had a scaredy cat before, but he was clearly traumatized by whatever jerk-off owned him before he ended up on the street - and let me take a moment to say that anyone low enough to be mean to a cat is obviously sub-human and deserves a certain kind of torment I hope is reserved for them here and/or hereafter...

But I digress.  I now am a cat owner again.  My oldest and last remaining cat died on my father's birthday in December 2009 and in honor of her and my inability to figure out my life I did not get a new cat until today.  I was even a little hesitant, but felt clearly I should do it last night, after all the signs leading to my adoption of this cat, whose name has been variously: Hud, Ugo, Kittyhead, Buddy and from me now: Sweet Beast or Silly Beast.  He might end up with a really dumb proper name from me like Sir Lancelot, because he seems kind of knightly in his bearing.  And yes I know how lame that is but I always give my cats stupid names.  Don't ask me why.

When I can take a picture of him, after I finally get batteries for my camera that work, I may post a picture here and ask for suggestions.

But for now I have a cat behind a chair and a camera that doesn't work.  So, some photos of Inwood follow.  This will be a brief post because I need to prepare for the second five week intensive class I am teaching starting tomorrow.  Even though I am teaching similar stuff, it's still new to me so need to brush up on the class plan and get prepared.

Last night I stayed up late grading final exams, if you can believe it.  The wild and crazy life of an artist-teacher in NYC.  Woohoo.

Oh I should add that today along with some nice walks, I did get some writing off to places I wanted to send it and proposed some of my own projects today.  So it's been a good day on the whole....

And for you, my dear readers, check out the autmnal gorgeosity that is in Manhattan (!)...I would have more photos if my camera wasn't being so cranky...but at least there are some...



that's the Bronx on the other side...
 

just in case there's a fire, two trees to the right, there's a fire hydrant...



little building is a nature center (!) with info about the bald eagles and such...amazing.



Sweet dreams of yellow orange red...I feel so blessed to be living here.  And to have a silly beast behind me deciding whether or not it's OK to trust me.  I think he will soon, but God knows any of us who have been traumatized know, it takes time.  And so, he - Sir Lancelot the Silly Beast - has time.  Please send him lots of love and warmth.

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 7, 2011 at 12:04 PM

    Prrrrrrrr. Migaow. Prrrrrr.

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  2. AnonymousNovember 7, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    Silly Beast (I really like the name) has finally found the most loving and caring home on the planet. Hope both of you have a wonderful time bonding!! Glad you have taken this jump. Certainly you of all people know about "taking the time it takes..."

    Robin

    ReplyDelete
  3. LesleyNovember 7, 2011 at 5:51 PM

    A cat! How great! London rescue cat Stripy sends big purr (the one who livedpop.1and1.co.uk under a bush outside for a year and now wants to sit on us and purr at all times)...HUD/Lancelot will surely do the same

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  4. Julia Lee Barclay-MortonNovember 7, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    Thank everyone - all of you cat lovers - I honestly think if I did a blog about cats I would become wildly popular. So far this one already has more interest than others of recent time...and not even a photo yet!

    He's still hiding behind sofa, but did use litter box, but not sure he's eaten. I think I inadvertently scared him last night when I got up and saw him sitting next to the food bowls. He then bolted back behind the sofa...poor little guy.

    But I can pet him a little when I manage to reach back behind sofa...yes you will hear developments on the blog!

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