It has been several years now since I wrote the book Bamso: The Art of Dreams. This December it will be published in English for all to read, and it seems like only yesterday that I sat, finishing the final details, wondering if I had written everything right. Those days were intense, full of adventures blazing new paths; I could tell many stories surrounding the birth of this book. For now, I would like to share something very important, the music which accompanied me on the journey of writing, while enjoying and intense Boston summer.

I present to you Hamza El Din, an inspiring musician. The images in this video bring us to places south of old Alexandria, where Hypatia, one of the characters in Bamso, lived. I’ve included lyrics from the song heard here, Mwasha, from the album Eclipse; this poem has a great symbolic significance. – Asanaro (2009)

When she begins her gentle movement

When the gossamer nymph appears,
My beloved beauty drives me to distraction;
Surrender
Surrender
When I am enraptured by a glimpse,
My beloved beauty is a tender branch caught by the breeze;
Surrender
Surrender
Oh, my destiny, my perplexity,
No one can comfort me in my misery,
In my lamenting and suffering for love,
But for the one in the beautiful mirage;
My beloved’s beauty drives me to distraction,
Surrender,
Surrender…”