In 1901, Eva Palmer abandoned her life as a privileged New York socialite, moving to Paris with her lover, the writer and salonist, Natalie Barney. The two Americans became the center of a wild tangle of lesbian love affairs and backyard performances based on intentional reimaginings of Sappho’s work and life. A chance encounter led Eva to Greece, where she married Angelos Sikelianos, a visionary poet who would become a Greek national hero. Celebrated American poet Eleni Sikelianos grew up knowing little of these illustrious ancestors, her great grandparents, who, in the early 20th century staged a revival of the ancient Delphic festivals, convinced that it would open a path to world peace. It was not until the age of 20, on her first trip to Greece, that she encountered the breadth of their legacy. In her new book, Memory Rehearsal, Sikelianos unearths the story of her search for these pioneering ancestors, in a text that shifts between prose, poetry, imaginary performance texts, fiction, and nonfiction, with archival and family photographs. Eleni will read from and discuss Memory Rehearsal, which Kirkus calls a “moving family memoir and a triumph of cultural archaeology.”
Admission/Cost: FREE Registration required
Location:
Student Center B
UC San Diego
9358 Mandeville Ln
La Jolla, CA
Tuesday, November 17 - 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
