LITERARY EVENT BRINGS GREEK ANATOLIA TO LIFE THROUGH NEW TRANSLATION

On October 26, 2021 author, translator, and Modern Greek scholar Dr. Therese Sellers gave a reading from her English translation of Ilias Venezis’ Land of Aeolia, a lyrical memoir of Venezis’ childhood in Asia Minor before the First World War. Dr. Sellers’ skillful translation and animated reading of passages from it brought to vibrant life the lost world of Greek Anatolia. The reading took place at the Maliotis Cultural Center and was sponsored by the New York Life Center for the Study of Hellenism in Pontus and Asia Minor at Hellenic College Holy Cross, which promotes the study of Hellenism in Pontus and Asia Minor through campus talks, a biennial Asia Minor Travel Seminar, and other programming.

 The event was organized by Dr. Nicholas Ganson, director of the New York Life Center for the Study of Hellenism in Pontus and Asia Minor and co-director of the Literature and History Program at Hellenic College, and Dr. Stamatia Dova, director of the Classics and Greek Studies Programs at Hellenic College. Drs. Ganson and Dova welcomed the audience of students, faculty, and staff, some of whom are descendants of Anatolian Greeks. Dr. Dova described Dr. Sellers, who holds a doctorate in Modern Greek literature and translation, as someone who “has embraced Greece with all her heart,” and the author confirmed that, saying that she has “been in love with Greece since childhood” and has spent a great deal of time there.