Gabriel Meyer is one of those people who doesn’t need to be highlighted in a book to be anomalous. Look up his name and see his various peace-brokering efforts, and you have someone who is an exemplary human being courtesy of the trail of inspiration left behind him. It feels almost sinful to try to corporatize the man, even in literary form.
URL: https://www.gabrielmeyerhalevy.com/en/home
Something of a spit in the face to the ideals of someone whose work is decidedly anti-materialistic in nature. But if someone is going to tell Mr. Meyer’s story, it may as well be the man himself. And much like the enormous gravity and grace in Mr. Meyer’s work, his book On the Verge of the Verb: An Autobiographical Fiction of Prophetic Sorts compliments – rather than undermines – his distinctive philosophy. “People often ask me to describe my gifts and work in the world. This is the latest version I’ve come up with: ‘Flexitarian Global Minstrel, Cross-Cultural World-Bridger, Celebrating Spirit, Beyond Enemy Lines’,” Meyer says, in the book’s preface. Part of the brilliance of this meditation before the general text is Meyer’s highlighting of himself as an other.
Someone who was not always ahead, and because of those trials and tribulations better suited for the work that has distinguished him today. The hero’s sojourn is often a difficult one, real-life heroic figures being no exception. With the wit and gravitas shown in the aforementioned quote, Meyer is able to highlight the emotional aspects of this odyssey. In turn, this humanizes him to the reader, and simultaneously pulls them in. That way, a human face is on someone who exploits at times can prove overwhelming. They’re magnificent enough in scope that it makes one wonder, What the hell should I do? Flintiness can be a bad motivator. Meyer uplifts the reader with lightness, and in turn reminds them everyone has the capacity to make a difference. In many ways, it’s a gentle Get off your ass, go out and help.
“When I got to Israel, as I tried to carve out my role, voice, and space in Israeli culture, I
felt deeply misunderstood. Are you religious or secular?…I wasn’t enough of a ‘musician’ for my musician friends and not enough of a ‘theater person’ for the theater world,” Meyer writes. “In my Spirit pursuits, I was not ‘Jewish’ enough, or ‘Sufi’ enough, not ‘Buddhist’ enough, not ‘shamanic’ enough, not ‘secular’ enough, not a ‘gardener’ enough, not ‘activist’ enough… the list kept piling up. My art wasn’t ‘Israeli’ enough, and it wasn’t ‘international’ enough either. I wasn’t enough of a leader or a winner as I played football as a defensive midfield, made very few goals, and was always afraid to take a penalty kick. I was always more of the ‘adviser,’ the closest to the leader. More Robin than Batman, more ping pong than tennis, more poetry than novel…
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Verge-Verb-Autobiographical-Fiction-Prophetic/dp/1960090844
Playing hopscotch through my spirit’s itinerary and random chronology: from my native
Argentina to my parents’ New York, from Marrakesh to India, from Ireland to Brazil, from
Paris to Taos, from South Africa to Turkey. From Sufis to Roshis, from shamans to artists, from rabbis to activists. From city to desert, from jungle to island. Skipping through the map of what became our prophetic adventure: Buenos Aires, Sinai, Portugal, Galilee, Crete, Bethlehem, Rome, Hebron and Jerusalem. In any case, here it is: a faithful and transparent rendering of fact and fiction beyond victim, perpetrator, or hero.”
Garth Thomas