David Kotok was inspired to write whilst living in the tropical swill of the metropolis of Jakarta. He took that compulsion on his travels across Asia and into Europe. This story, ‘Dairy of an Ill-fated Business Trip to Oporto’ is his eighth selected for publication. It was inspired by an observation of the robotic-like movements of passengers called to flights during a delay at Madrid airport.
After many years of motivational travel, David now lives with his beautiful wife in a converted Oast House in the English countryside, where hops were once gathered to turn into beer. Between writing he walks his dogs, feeds the birds, throws pots and commutes into London. He wants to play the trumpet. SOMETHING WILL BEFALL US ALL…
My stories are painted in shades of dark. I had wanted them to be light, a series devoted to celebration, but the shadows crept in. Take the story of the Grey Man. A projection of dismay and consequence, yet the rhythms that drive his dance are golden and vibrant, the sounds of gamelan and the colours of the tropics. My brush has stained the carnival as greed and loathing bubble to the fore. Maybe I should be nicer. My name is Kotok. It is also the name of an island floating in an azure sea. Well, it used to be azure. The eggy waters of Jakarta Bay, once a distant menace to sail through, now threaten to strangle the reefs and soil the beach. Plastic toys and discarded sandals and rusting cans decorate the sandbars and plastic bags float like ghosts in the water. Maybe we should be more careful. I write about what I know and what I don’t know. I write to lay demons to rest, but things fall apart in a churn of motion. So be nice…. And be careful. David Kotok |
David's Website
A Featured Interview from TRANSCENDENT A Newsletter Feature from TRANSCENDENT An Excerpt from "Grey Man Walking Past" A Featured Interview from IN THE AIR A Newsletter Feature from IN THE AIR An Excerpt from "An Ill-Fated Business Trip to Oporto" |
