Richard Drab

My name is Richard Drab, born in 1958, and today I live with the wonderful feeling of finally having the time for everything that truly fulfills me. Writing, music, technology, travel – there are many paths that spark my curiosity, and almost every day I discover something new that captivates me. Standing still is not in my nature – on the contrary: my mind is an open studio filled with ideas, and my days are often far too short to bring them all to life.

My love for writing didn’t arrive overnight; it grew quietly – like a seed germinating unseen until one day it breaks through the surface, strong and vibrant. It became truly intense when I held my mother’s handwritten recipe collection in my hands: carefully arranged, filled with a passion for wholesome, honest whole-food cooking. I reworked the collection, enriched it, turned it into words – and discovered how deeply satisfying it is for me to give stories structure, preserve memories, and create something meant to endure.

Since then, writing has accompanied me like a faithful friend. Over the years, I’ve created countless sketches, fragments, reflections, and travel impressions – small pieces of a mosaic that I am now gradually shaping into complete books. It’s a process much like restoring an old painting: layer by layer, the surface is cleared until the colors shine again and the scene comes back to life.

But my creativity is not limited to writing. Music plays an equally important role: I play the tenor saxophone, compose, and experiment. My wife Eveline is a pianist – her musical mastery is both an inspiration and a challenge to me. Our collaboration is a quiet dialogue made of notes, glances, and ideas.

Technology, too, is fertile ground for my imagination: I program in Java, PHP, and HTML, create graphics, write song lyrics, work with MIDI, mix music, and increasingly explore the possibilities of artificial intelligence. Often, these worlds merge – from a single thought, a piece of music can emerge, an article, a line of code, or an entire book.

Italy holds a special place in my heart: navigating quiet canals, discovering places far from the beaten track, absorbing the people, the cuisine, the language, and the culture – all of this nourishes my imagination. Many of my texts carry this spirit within them: the light, the ease, and the flavor of a country I deeply love.

Boredom has no place in my life. Every day, I see as a gift – an opportunity to create, to understand, or to share something new.