David Eric Jordan

It took me a while to be able to write about this, and even longer to find the strength to share it. David was much more to me than a great friend. He was a father figure, a true mentor—someone whose vision, ideas, and generosity shaped perspectives and changed lives, not just mine, but those of an incredibly diverse number of people. To say I was devastated when I heard the news is an understatement. The thought of never again being able to count on his wisdom, his wit, his fabulous stories… No, I couldn’t really think, I could only cry. Selfish thoughts, I realise, but I'm only human. I met David when I was 25, having just arrived in London to study English back in 1996. As you all know, he wasn’t just the owner of the unforgettable Camden College of English. He was a visionary, someone who created an environment where teaching English was merely a pretext for sharing his unparalleled worldview. Those six months changed me in ways I cannot fully put into words. I was lucky enough to become one of his close friends, to extend our conversations long after the school had closed its doors. With him, I could share my unusual dilemmas and conflicts and receive something even rarer: a perspective on the world and on life that didn’t fit into the usual script most of us are so quick to follow. I’ve had three great mentors in my life: my father, Mario; my teacher and PhD advisor, Porchat; and David. I had planned to surprise and meet David for his 80th birthday, but that meeting transformed into something else, as we gathered to celebrate his life through heartfelt conversations and shared memories with those who deeply loved and admired him. Anyone who knows me well is aware that I'm an atheist, someone who calmly accepts that this earthly life is all we have—and perhaps that's why it feels so precious. But that doesn’t stop me from saying that David has eternal life. Or, as the great Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes might have put it, eternal as long as the many memories and lessons he left behind continue to live in us. Thank you, my dear friend. Thank you! “I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and David – He took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.”