Gail Holst-Warhaft, “The Fall of Athens”

Event time: 
Monday, February 20, 2017 - 4:30pm
Location: 
Luce Hall (LUCE), 203 See map
34 Hillhouse Ave.
New Haven, CT 06511
Event description: 

Gail Holst-Warhaft will read from and discuss her latest work “The Fall of Athens. The collection of poetry and prose reflects the bleak state of present-day Athens and reminds the reader there is nothing new about Greece’s suffering. Combining present observations with portraits of Greek musicians and writers, Holst-Warhaft’s book is both a peon of praise for the music and poetry the author first discovered in the Greece of the 1960’s, and a reminder of how much the country has changed since it returned to democracy in 1974. Having played in the orchestras of such legends as Mikis Theodorakis and Dionysis Savvopoulos, the author had a bird’s eye view of 20th century Greek music at its apogee. Translating Greek poetry and prose later brought her in close contact with some of the leading writers of the period. With the discovery of Greek music and poetry came the forging of lasting friendships with these giants of Greek culture. This eclectic compilation of poetry, prose, translation, memoir, and songs captures the enigmatic, hybrid nature of Greece, a country that has always had the ability to create extraordinary beauty out of suffering.