A Disorderly Ride Blessed by Our Lord Jesus //
In November 2019, a century will pass since Alma M. Karlin took on her grand voyage around the world. Eight years of Colombian dreams, as she called her adventure herself, this petite Slovenian writer. A woman of enormous intellectual strength, but not much physical power, followed the traces of her illusions all over the globe until her very last myth about the nature of life was demolished.
Her desire to explore the globe fully, with all five senses, led her to overcome difficulties not many women of that time could endure. But her need for creative expression was more prominent than fear, and a persisting feeling of loneliness liberated her from all the attachments that bind most people to the ordinary. Many great works were born out of these adventures Alma collected. The iconic Odyssey of a lonely woman, where the author not only shares impressions of the places she visits but her internal struggles, too.
I can’t get Alma’s image out of my mind when, almost a hundred years later, I embark on my own version of the solitary journey. Fragments of similar feelings touch through the distance of time, the same expectations, and genuine excitement over the idea of venturing into the unknown. Alone, independent and self-reliant. The urgency to prove something to yourself as well as others, maybe to society, directly or discreetly subjugating its members. While a lot has changed in a century, some things remain unchanged – a woman alone still presents a certain kind of a threat.
READ MORE ON VERSOPOLIS/REVIEW