The Inspiration for a Babel of words

Words come from an unknown source, they come into our minds to express thoughts, emotions, they tell the stories of our lives, from mundane daily gossip to epic poetry.

A Babel of words is a celebration of the words which have fallen into place, either by mistake, randomly or after careful crafting.

There is something magical about writing, many authors tell of characters who appear out of nowhere and demand to be included in novels or songs which write themselves in dreams, poems that need to be chased, nurtured or tamed. This strange magic is a reminder of the esoteric nature of language. 

Like the strange phenomenon Glossolalia or speaking in tongues where people appear to speak in languages unknown to themselves. This mystical event happens mostly in places like evangelical churches and in Bible stories.

The fluid vocalisation of speech-like syllables that lack any comprehensive meaning, in some cases as part of religious practice in which it is believed to be part of an angelic or divine language, unknown to the speaker.

Neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus linked glossolalia to prophesy, believing prophecy writing was a form of divine spiritual possession.

The power and unifying nature of language is illustrated by the biblical tale of Babel from the book of Genesis.

The tower of Babel was constructed at the beginning of time by all men who spoke the same universal language, in an attempt to reach the heavens. Gods punishment for man’s pride was to tumble down the construction and break the universal language into pieces, so each man had his own different language and was unable to understand one another or co-operate.

Today’s language occasionally reflects a spark of this ancient and supernatural power in a Babel of words. There is something of that ancient fragmented universal language, which is musical, intimate and vital even in contemporary writing.

A little bit of the magic of glossolalia and Babel still trickles down into each writer who seems to be the vessel for new ideas, stories and ways of using language.

This space is dedicated to words, a celebration of ideas and an acknowledgement of the magic and mystery of where creativity comes from.

The person behind the words

I’m Rochelle Del Borrello.

I’m a writer, which is something I’ve spent a rather long time circling around before finally admitting to.

I live in Sicily, where I’ve been an Australian outsider and an adopted local since the early 2000s. I write about words and memory, books and poetry, Sicily and Australia, creativity and ordinary life — and occasionally about whatever else has managed to get into my head.

I’ve always been fascinated by language: the way words can transport us somewhere else, resurrect a person we’ve forgotten, break our hearts or make us laugh at exactly the right moment.

Poetry is my first love. Writing is how I make sense of things. Whilst photography is another way of paying attention and taking visual notes of whatever I observe.

I’m happiest somewhere between the two — noticing things and trying to find the words for them.

I studied English Literature and Communications at university and later journalism and broadcasting. Over the years I’ve worked as a teacher, interpreter, fixer, travel writer, guidebook writer and freelancer. I’ve lived in Sicily for more than two decades, written about it for almost as long, and somehow I’m still curious about what happens next.

I don’t have a particular plan for this place.

That’s rather the point.

A Babel of Words is a collection of my scribblings: poetry, stories, fragments, observations, photographs, music, books, creativity, inspiration, ideas and whatever else insists on being made.

Some of it will be polished.

Some of it won’t.

Some things will make sense.

Some probably won’t.

But all of it comes from the same place: a persistent curiosity about words, people, places and this strange business of being alive.

Thanks for stopping by.