PLENARY

100 years of Charmian Clift – Translating Greek island life to the world.

In 1955, while living on Kalymnos, Australian author Charmian Clift ‘translated’ the island’s culture for English-speaking readers in Mermaid Singing. In 2022, the story came back to Greece in the translation To Tragoudi tis Gorgonas. In this panel discussion, the book’s translator, Fotini Pipi, will describe her process and the Australian Ambassador to Greece, Arthur Spyrou will discuss the book’s significance for Greek and Australian readers. Clift’s biographer, Nadia Wheatley, will put Clift’s experience on Kalymnos and the writing of Mermaid Singing into the context of the author’s life. The panel will be chaired by academic and journalist, Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos.

To book and to see full program Greek Australian Writers Festival, click on the link below., Tickets are free but you should book to reserve a spot.

https://greekfestivalofsydney.com.au/event/the-greek-australian-writers-festival/

PRESENTATION

The Write Stuff: Hydra’s Literary Age, 4.00 to 4.45

Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalzeil, authors of Half the Perfect World: Writers, Dreamers and Drifters on Hydra, 1955-1964, will discuss their research and showcase a trove of photographs of the expatriate community of this island where Charmian Clift and George Johnston wrote and lived.