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Press
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A
literary evening honoring Menis Koumandareas
Presented by The Foundation for Hellenic Culture,
Inc.
7 West 57th Street - New York
Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 7 p.m.
For
reservations, please call: 212.308.6908
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact:
The Foundation for Hellenic Culture, Inc.:
Tel.: 212.308.6908 - Fax: 212.308.0919
E-mail: iep.ny@ix.netcom.com
www.foundationhellenicculture.com
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The
Foundation for Hellenic Culture in New York (located at 7 West
57 Street) presents a literary evening honoring Menis Koumandareas,
a distinguished Greek author. Mr. Vangelis Calotychos, Assistant
Professor at the Department of Comparative Literature and Hellenic
Studies at New York University, and Ms. Patricia F. Barbeito,
Assistant Professor of American Ethnic Literature at the School
of Design, Rhode Island will read excerpts of the writer's work
in Greek and English. Discussion will follow.
Mr. Menis Koumandareas, born in Athens (1931), started his writing
career very early, but he did not publish his work until later.
He did not choose to take up an academic course of study, but
learned the ropes of life with Manos Xatzidakis and Yannis Tsarouxis.
For many years he earned a living by working for insurance and
shipping companies.
His first book "Pin-Ball Machines", published in 1962,
is a collection of stories of alienated adolescents looking
for a way to realize their dreams, hopes, and aspirations. During
the Greek junta (dictatorship), he was awarded a grant from
the Ford Foundation which permited him to finish his novel "Glass
Factory" and won him his first National Book Award. His
novel "Koula" was filmed for the Greek television,
and “Vest No 9" was turned into a movie by the Greek
filmmaker Pandelis Voulgaris.
Mr. Menis Koumandareas is considered the foremost representative
of the school of social realism in contemporary Greek literature,
despite his poetic disposition, almost elegiac at times, especially
in his later works, referring to the degeneration of beauty
and youth. Most of his works, regardless their topic, incorporate
a fascinating wandering in venues where one can observe the
contemporary Greek urban life in action and in full detail.
This exceptional capability of his makes him the great realist
he is, without compromising the other elements of his artistry
that reveal his deep poetic dimension.
Mr. Menis Koumandareas has been awarded the National Book Award
three times and his novel "The Handsome Lieutenant"
received the Blue Book Award in 2001 Frankfurt's International
Book Festival, the year that Greece was the honored country.
"The Handsome Lieutenant" is a young officer who grows
old waiting in vain for a promotion to climb up the ranks of
the military establishment. The hero is depicted not as the
victim of the governmental bureaucracy but rather as a symbol
of youth being wasted without ever blossoming. His latest work
"Two Times Greek", a mosaic of the Greek society from
1949 to 1990, was so well received that it became an instant
best seller. His works have been translated into English, French,
German, Spanish, and Russian, and Koumandareas has translated
American writers such as Poe, Melville, Hemingway, McCullers,
Faulkner and Fitzgerald.
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| The
Foundation for Hellenic Culture is a nonprofit organization founded
in Athens in 1992 to promote and disseminate Greek culture and
language at the international level. Today, under the auspices
of the Greek Ministry of Culture and with branches in Odessa,
Alexandria, Berlin, Paris, London and New York, the FHC organizes
and supports a vast range of activities including exhibitions,
concerts, lectures, film festivals, music and dance festivals.
The FHC in New York, with seven years of consistent presence,
strives to bring to the American public unique programs of Greek
artistry, creativity, and spirit. Join the Foundation for Hellenic
Culture for a fascinating journey through Greek civilization.
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The above press
release has been provided by the Foundation for Hellenic Culture
The Foundation
for Hellenic Culture: Information
and Calendar of Events
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