A Letter from Noor

A Letter from Noor. Which arrived at the house sometime early last fall. After she'd returned from the Fulbright in Amman, now recently transplanted to New York. And much missed here, after our friendship of seven years, ever since she'd appeared in one of my Songs & Places classes--that was Fall 2011, a difficult time, but Noor's presence (along with Hannah, Chris and a number of of the others) helped me through. I remember the letter she wrote me then, too--an email, actually--which arrived a few days after the class had started--she'd discovered it late--introducing herself in such an intriguing (compelling) way that I couldn't say no--it was so clearly the right place for her...

The letter above--the envelope, that is--is Noor's sensibility, where elements are combined, reflected upon in media res,  where the spots of tape embellish the dance, and a colored stamp inserts itself under the closing flap, wrapped and bent and a little disjointed--perfectly disjointed, I'd say--so that the attentive orthography, Noor's writing hand, comes as a surprise--a reminder of her acuity, an acuity that demands its own path and manner. But then, that's why we're friends--or one reason, at least--because where Noor will take things always has an delightfully personal element. It's in her writing, and in her songs as well.

So, you see, another letter of recommendation--but writing one for Miss Noor is a pleasure--because I get to reinvent our friendship each time!

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