from the former president - International Lawrence Durrell Society

The International Lawrence Durrell Society
NumberTwenty-two,30 November2000
Editor:SusanS. MacNiven
P u b l i s h e lra: n S . M a c N i v e n
All materials@TheIntemationalLawrenceDurrell SocietvHerald.20Co
F R O MT H E F O R M E R
PRESIDENT
AnnaLillios
A
A few yearsago,when I was
writingan articleon Lawrence
Durrell'sview of what makes
GreeceGREECE,I came
acrossa passagein Spiritof
Place, whichyou all may recall.
Durrellsaysthat if you transport
non-Greeks
to the Greek
islands,add brilliantsunlight,
blue seas,and a few olive trees
for good measure,the nonGreekwouldbeginto takeon
Greekcharacteristics,
such as
"tirelesscuriosity,sensuality,
and a passionate
desireto
conceptualize
things
metaphysically."
In Corfulast
July,thoseof us fortunate
enoughto be ableto attend
OMG Xl had a chanceto test
out LD'stheoryand see if the
spiritof the placestillworkedits
magic.From my perspective
as
co-chairof the conference,
I
thinkthe conference
was a
greatsuccess--thanks
to those
of you who attendedand those
of you who workedso hard on
the arrangements.
A special
thanksshouldgo out to the
lonianUniversity,
Professor
PanosKaragiorgos,
and Mayor
Chrysanthos
Sarlisfor hosting
us and showingus Greek
philoxenia.
An outcomeof the
conference
has beenthe
creationof two projects,which
exciteme and will carrythe
Societyintothe future.The
first is the formationof an ad
hoc web pagecommitteethat
has beenbrainstorming
ideas
for our Societyweb pagethis
fall.The membersinclude
JamesDecker,JamesGifford,
DonaldKaczvinsky,
Jonathan
Pearman,CharlesSligh,Greg
Dicksonas webmaster,
and
myselfas editor.Someof the
ideasthatwe are considerino
are the following:
1) Add moreimages,
includingphotographs
and
even Durrell'sartwork.
7) Showavailability
of LD's
works,as well as printhistories
of variousworks.
8) Offer onlineaccessto LD's
works,supplying
as manypivotal
quotations
as fair-uselawswill
permit.This materialcouldbe on
a sitethat'sdownloadable
to a
CD. A CD couldalsoinclude
scholarstalkingaboutLD.
9) Providelinksto scholarly
articleson LD'sworks,perhaps
on a fee basis.
Pleasesendme any
commentsor suggestions
you
2) Createa sitethat would
haveaboutour ambitiousplans.
focuson Durrellin the
We are alsoseekingout
classroomand offer materials. volunteers
and wouldwelcome
perhapsan archiveof
any helpthat is offered.
electronic
texts,images,maps,
I'd alsoliketo remindyou that
syllabi,firsthandaccountsof
the Discussion
Groupis still
teachingstrategies,
operating,
but undera new
introductions
to works,etc.
address:
<[email protected]>.
3) Beginworkon a fullPleasesendmessages
to that
scalebibliography,
including
address.lf you'dliketo subscribe
primaryand secondary
to the group,you can writeme at
<[email protected].
materials,
withcommentary
or
ucf.edu>.
abstracts
if permission
is
The secondprojecton which
granted.
I'm working,whichis a direct
resultof the OMG Xl conference,
4) Linkup to various
is a collection
of essaysthat
directories
and otherauthor
focuson Durrellin the Greek
web pagesrelevantto LD.
World.I'm gathering
together
articlesand memoirsthat offer
5)Add morelibrary
new perspectives
on the topic
collections
and as muchdetail andwill sendthe volumeout to
on holdingsas theywill permit publishers
in the newyear.
us to publish.
Bestwishesto all.
6) Leadchatsessionsafter
conferences
are over.
)^7^hhh
T H EP R E S I D E N T ' S
COLUMN
Anne Zahlan
On thisbleakNovember
afternoonin lllinois,I lookback
fondlyon thosesunnyand
(very)warm days on faraway
Corfu.On MiracleGroundXl is
alreadybecominglegend,
findingits way intothe
collectivememoryof
Durrellians
aroundthe world.A
highlightof the conference
for
all who attendedwas the
graciousand generous
participation
of two membersof
the Durrellfamily,Margaret
Durrelland PenelooeDurrellHope.Theirpresenceamongus
and that of friendsfrom Corfu
and otherregionsof Greece
forgedimportantbondsbetween
thosewho know Lawrence
Durrellprimarilythroughhis
writingsandthosewho shared
his life.
The conference
organizers
have earnedour gratitudefor
gn d
t h e i ri m a g i n a t i vpel a n n i n a
painstaking
attention
to detail.
The plenarysessionsand the
panelsrepresented
both
impressive
substance
and a
wide varietyof approach.On
Corfu,we learnedto appreciate
morethaneverthe intellectual,
aesthetic,
and personal
significance
of Greeceand its
languaga
e n d p e o p l ei n
LawrenceDurrell'slife and
work.In organizing
delightful
excursions
and locating
sessionsand eventsin
wonderfulold-townplaces,the
conference
committeemadeit
possiblefor us to feelthatwe
and our gatherings
were partof
the life of the island.
The many connectionsof
the Durrellsto Corfu will be
furtherreinforcedby the
views.Currently,Anna Lillios,
establishment
of the Durrell Greg Dickson,Jim Decker,
Schoolof Corfu,underthe
JamieGifford,Don
i n s p i r e da n d a b l el e a d e r s h i p Kaczvinsky,
Jonathan
of RichardPine.The School P e a r m a na, n d C h a r l e sS l i g h
will sponsorinstitutesand
are workingto expandand
conductcoursesthat will
imorovesite contents.
bringparticipants
from all
M e a n w h i l eM, i c h a e l
over the worldto the island. Cartwright,
Virginia
The InternationalLawrence Carruthers,Don Kaczvinsky,
DurrellSocietywas honored J o n a t h a nP e a r m a na, n d
to be invitedto nominate
HelenWussoware reviewing
three representatives
to
our By-Lawsand will
serve on the Boardof
recommendany structural
Directors,
and we are proud changesneededto ensure
to announcethat Jim
the Society'scontinued
N i c h o l sJ, o h n R o s e ,a n d
vitality.
RichardHoodhave agreed
My autumnletterto
to do this importantwork.
membersaffirmedthe goalof
M y h o p ei s t h a t I L D S
servingour "growingand
memberswill bringtheir
d i v e r s em e m b e r s h i pa, "n d I
studentsto Corfuduringthe was delightedto hearfrom
comingyears,and that we
NormajeanMacLeodwho
will all contributeideasand
speakspassionately
on
supportto the Durrell
behalfof thosewhose love
School.
for Durrellwasnot cultivated
I am honoredto have
in universityclassesin
been askedto serveas
literature.
To Normajeanand
Societypresident,and as
to all of you, I pledgeto
the initialshockwearsoff, I
treasurethe diversityof the
morethan everappreciate Societyand the strengththat
the strengthof the
diversitybrings.I hope that
organization
and the
we will keep in touchwith
dedicationof its members. each otherby meansof the
Cleady,we want to carryon web site,the ListServe,and
the traditionsof creativity
e-mail,as well as through
and collegiality
established lettersand our serialprint
publications,
by the foundersas we
Deus Loci and
continueto worktogetherto the Herald I also hope that
encouragethe appreciation a s m a n ya s y o u a s p o s s i b l e
of readersand the interest planto attendOn Miracle
of scholarsin the worksof
G r o u n dX l l , t h e 2 0 0 2
LawrenceDurrell.ln this
conferencebeingorganized
new Information
Age, the
by LarryGamacheand
web sitehas becomea vital hostedby the University
of
m e a n so f d i s s e m i n a t i n g
Ottawa.In Ontario,we will
information
and exchanging considerDurrellin the context
o f m u l t i c u l t u r a l i samn,d t h i s
focus highlightsthe
internationalism
of the author
and thoseto whom his work
significant.
is particularly
LawrenceDurrellis a world
writerwhosewordsspeakto
peopleof everyculture,and
the Societydedicatedto
readingand studyinghis
works has much to
contributeto international
communication
and
understanding.
7^hhhh
F R O MT H EV I C E .
PRESIDENT
Lawrence B. Gamache
-r
I he centralfocus of my report
is on the upcominginternational
conferencein 2002.After the
successof the Corfueffort,the
taskof mountinganothersuch
meetingseemsdaunting.As the
personchargedwith this duty, I
am workinghardto bringabout
a conference
in Ottawa,
Canada,thatwill be as
m e m o r a b laes t h e o n e i n
Greece.The view of Durrellto
be offeredfrom the vantage
pointof Canada'snational
capital,with one of the most
beautifullandscapes
of any
capitalcity in the world,will be
and useful
notjust interesting
for Durrellstudies,butwill also
be in the contextof a
pleasurable
and relaxing
setting.The city offersa range
of restaurants
and theatres
to the bestin much
comoarable
l a r g e rv e n u e s l.t i s n e a rt h e
H i l l so f Q u e b e ct,h e
Gatineau
cityof Montrealis lessthan
two hoursaway,and it is within
four hours'driveof Toronto.
Ottawahas two beautifulrivers
and a canalrunningthroughits
center,and greenspacesand
parklands
withina shortwalk of
the Universityof Ottawa.I am
certainthis conferencewill be
a mostmemorableexperience
for all participants.
The 12thlnternational
LawrenceDurrellConference
will be held 20-24June 2002 at
the Universityof Ottawa,
Ontario.The title,"Durrelland
His Circle:A Multicultural
Exploration-Past,Present,
and Future,"impliesa central
but not exclusivefocusfor the
presentations
to be offered.lt
alsosuggeststhatthe
conferencewill deal with other
writerswho relateto Durrell
eitheras associates,
influences,
or as having
comparablepreoccupations,
techniques,
or source
materials.
Durrell'susesof
culturaltraditions,
suchas
thoseof India,France,the
MiddleEast,and Greece,or
h i sa l l u s i o ntso B u d d h i s m ,
gnosticism,
modernscientific
and psychological
theories,
and ancientand modern
philosophies
and theologies
can be exploredin waysthat
will helpto clarifyDurrell'sart,
his importance
as a writer,and
hrsplacein the historyof
twentieth-century
literature.
Durrell's
own present,his life,
associations,
andtravelsoffer
pointsof departure
additional
from whichto studyhis works.
In additionto paperson the
mattersoutlinedabove,the
conferencewill offer
comments,appreciations,
and
reactions
from Canadian
and
authors,academics,
youngerstudentsof literature
and otherrelatedfields.The
of multiculturalism
importance
in
Canadais an importantreason
for the choiceof it as a major
focusfor conferencediscussions.
Canadahas produceda
literalurerecognizedthroughout
the world as one of the most
importantof the latertwentieth
century.lts productivityexceeds
what might be expectedof a
nationwith a relatively
small
population.MargaretAtwood,
AliceMunro,MichaelOndaatje,
GabrielleRoy,MichelTremblay,
RobertsonDavies,Margaret
Lawrence,
and MordecaiRichter
are onlysomeof the names
knownbeyondCanada'sborders.
Theyalsosuggestthe cultural
rangeof the Canadianmosaic.lt
is my hopeto havesome
significant
Canadianauthors
sharetheir viewsof Durrellwith
the conferenceparticipants.
Muchwill dependuponthe
successof our effortsto obtain
outsidefundingto go alongwith
the supportwe are beinggiven
by the Universityof Ottawa.
Thosewho intendto
participatein the conference
shouldwatchfor noticesof
deadlines
to be publishedin
PMLA,the Societynewsletter,
the internet,and elsewhere.
The
Callfor Paoerswill be sentout
shortly;the initialdeadlinefor
submission
of proposals
is 15
January2002.The final
program,registration,
travel,and
accommodation
information
will
followby the middleof May
2002.lf anyonehas questions
or
suggestions,
I can be contacted
at
lawrence.gamache@attca
nada
.net
o r b y m a i la t
Departmentof English
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ontario K2G 0W2
Canada
I look forwardto seeing
manyold friendsand to making
new onesin June2002.
hlhhD
SECRETARY'S
REPORT
Paul H. Lorenz
O M GX I
Muchof the firsthalfof this
yearwas spentpreparing
for the
Corfuconference,
On Miracle
G r o u n dX l . N o w ,t h e
conference,
heldin a verywarm
and sunnyCorfu,has becomea
partof our collectivememory-the sessionsin the Old Fort,in
the ReadingSociety,and the
Faliraki;the manyreceptions,
the winetasting,the trips
a r o u n dt h e i s l a n dt;h e
dedication
of the plaqueat the
White House,the divingfor
cherriesat the shrineof Saint
Arsenius,the Spatharis
shadow
puppetshows,the exhibitof
Seferisand Durrellmaterials
from the GennadiusLibraryin
A t h e n sa, n d e s p e c i a l lt yh e
hoursof conversation
underthe
old treesof the Liston.I would
liketo takethis opportunity,
lesttheircontributions
be
forgotten,
to thanka few
peoplein Corfuwho did much
morethantheysignedon to do
to makethe conferencea
success:Pam BeatriceRoessel,PanosKaragiorgos
of
the lonianUniversity,
Nico
Manessis,
VassilisMouhasand
AndreasPapadatos
at the
CorfuReadingSociety,Hilary
WhittonPaipeti,Panayiotiat
the bookstorewhoseadvice
was crucial,MariaVolterrawho
puttogetherthe Gennadius
exhibit,and especially
Fanny
Ventourawhosewell-placed
telephonecallshelpedDavid
Roesselput on the Karaghiosis
performancedespitethe strike
whichthreatened
to leaveus
withouta venuefor the shadow
puppets.
The conference
billsare
now all paidand the Societyis
still solvent(seethe
Treasure/sReport).We made
enoughmoneyon the Silent
Auctionto ensurethat we can
pay for the next issueof Deus
Lociwithouttouchingthe
moneyin the capitalfundthis
time.To datethe conference
broken
itselfhas essentially
even,butwe are stillexpecting
the receiptof promisedfunds.
Whenwe receivethat
reimbursement,
the conference
will have madea smallprofitto
the benefitof the Society.
The BusinessMeetingin
Corfu
New officerswere elected
at the businessmeetingheldin
Corfu.AnneZahlanwas
electedto replaceAnna Lillios
as the president
of the Society,
and LarryGamachewas
+n
electedvice-oresiC:^'
replaceSusanVanderCloster.
I was re-electedto tt e oosition
of secretary/treasurer.
At the
businessmeetingwe also
decidedto holdour next
international
conferencein
Ottawa,Canada,at the invitation
of LarryGamache,and to plan
on havingthe 2004 conference
in Rhodesat the invitationof the
university
there.Manydifferent
proposalsfor Societyactivities
were suggestedat the meeting.
You can read aboutthese
proposalsin the columnsby
A n n eZ a h l a na n dA n n aL i l l i o si n
this issue of the Herald.
http ://www. lawren ced u rreIL
org
Earlierthis fall, I securedtwo
newdomainnamesfor the
Society'sweb site. Becausewe
are a non-profit
organization,
I
securedthe web address
<htto://www.lawrence
durrell.org>
whichnow points
you to our web site, and David
Brown,who ownedthe address
< http://www.lawrencedurrelLcom
>, was kind enoughto donate
that addressto the Societyso
that if you are one of those
peoplewho typesthe ".com"
you will stillfind
automatically,
yourway to our web site.The old
address
<http://www.cas.ucf.edu/durrell>
stilltakesyou to the Durrell
Societyweb site,but the new
domainnamesare easierto
remember.
MembershipRenewals
lf you are one of the many
peoplewhosemembership
dues
expiredin 2000,you can expect
to receivea membership
renewalnoticefrom me before
the end of November.Don't
forgetto renewyour membership
and,whileyou are at it, to order
your copiesof Deus Loci--areal
b a r g a i na t o n l y$ 1 0 a c c p y ( p l u s
postageoutsidethe US).
New MembershipDirectory
As soonas I finishcollecting
the membership
renewalsand
enteringnew addresses
intomy
database,I will printup a new
MembershipDirectoryand
distributeit to the members.lf
you have moved,if your
telephoneareacodehas
changed,or if you havea new
e-mailaddress,pleaselet me
knowby the end of December
so that the new directorywill be
accurate.You shouldhave the
newdirectoryin yourhands
sometime in January.Also,if
you haveanythingto advertise
thatwouldbe of interestto our
membership,
we will allocate
some roomfor announcements
and advertisements
in the back
of the directory.
Contactme if
you havesomethingyou want
advertised
in the backof the
directory.
The Durrell Prize for New
Scholarship
On Tuesday,4 July,
MargaretDurrellpresented
the
firstannualDurrellPrizefor
New Scholarship
to lsabelle
Kellerof Toulouse,France,for
her essay,"'Fearful
Disolacements'
or
Anamorphosis
in lhe
AlexandriaQuarfet." The
winningessayis an excerpt
from her recentlycompleted
dissertation
of the samename.
The $500US prizealongwith a
framedcertificatewas
oresentedto lsabelleat an
OMG Xl plenarysessionheldin
centerunderthe
the conference
VenetianBridgein Corfu'sOld
Fort.Congratulationslsabellel
We were fortunateto
receivemorethantwenty
entriesfrom aroundthe world;
entrieswere receivedfrom
Australia,
Canada,Cyprus,
England,France,Greece,lndia,
Lebanon,Spain,and the
UnitedStates.Therewere
manyexcellententries,and
the judgeshad a difficulttime
decidingbetweenfive of the
essayswhichthey felt had
exceptionalmerit.
The secondannualDurrell
PrizeCompetition
for New
Scholarsis now underuayand
two -,,trieshavealreadybeen
submitted.lf you wouldliketo
please
enterthe competition,
contactPaul Lorenz(3201S.
BeechStreet#40,PineBluff,
AR 71603USA;
<[email protected]>;
or,
phone/fax870-534-2931)
for a
copyof the entrycriteria.The
deadlinefor submissions
is 1
April2001,so thereis plentyof
time for you lo prepareyour
(if you are newto
submission
Durrellstudies)or to
yourstudentsto
encourage
preparean essayfor the
contest.
hoursof the auction,muchto the
benefitof the Society's
treasury.
At the end of the day,the auction
had earned$1771US for the
DurrellSociety,and dozensof
happyconferenceparticipants
went homewith their new-found
treasures.
New Members
We extenda heartywelcome
to the followingpeoplewho have
joinedthe ILDS:
David Brown
Jake Bumgardner
AlejandroLasalaDalmav
LaraE. Davis
EmmanuelE. Egar
PamelaJ. Francis
LenaHall
John Lee
MajorARB (fony) Lyne
Dan Popescu
Christiane
S6ris
CatherineVenne
The SilentAuction in Corfu
I am pleasedto announce
thatthe SilentAuctionheldin
the ReadingRoomof The
CorfuReadingSocietyduring
OMG Xl was a greatsuccess.
Morethan60 itemswere
donatedto the auction.There
was somelhingfor every
budget:everythingfrom
autographed
first editionsof
Durrell'sbooksto inexpensive
editions,alongwith
PaPerback
criticalbooksaboutDurrell,
copiesof the rarefirst seriesof
DeusLoci,magazines
which
werethe originalpublication
of
someof Durrell'spoems,
photographs,originalartwork,
and novelsby conference
participants.
Theseitemswere
availablefor inspection
and
the week,
biddingthroughout
butthe seriousbiddingreally
took placeduringthe lastfew
hTlhhh
T R E A S U R E RR
' SE P O R T
PaulH. Lorenz
1 November
2000
T
reportwhichappeared
I he treasurer's
in the lastissueo'flhe Heraldwascurrentthrough23 March
2000.Thisreportsummarizes
theSociety's
incomeandexpenses
sincetheMarchreport.All figures
in USdollarsandhavebeenrounded
to thenearest
dollaramount.
Total value of all Society accounts on 23 March 2000:
CheckingAccount:
Certificateof Deposit:
$ 1 6 , 6 8 6( a , b )
11,486
5,200
(a)$500represents
restricted
fundsdesignated
forthe DurrellPrizefor NewScholars.
(b)$1,000restricted
fundsfor DeusLoci.
$ 7,569
430
2000Revenue:23 March-l November2000:
Salesof DeusLoci.
Membership
Duespaid:
lnterestlncome:
OMG Xl Conference
Registrations:
OMG Xl SilentAuction:
OtherDonations
from Members:
26J
17
4,600
1,771
446
2000Expenses:23 March-1November2000:
$11,551
O M GX l P r i n t i n g :
1,241
OMG Xl Tote bags:
1,012
OMG Xl Travel& Hotelsfor lnvitedGuests
(includes
the Spatharis
shadowpuppetshows):
4,852
OMG Xl CoffeeServiceand Facilities:
2,200
OMG Xl ShippingExpenses:
400
OMG Xl Miscellaneous
Expenses
(includesplanningexpenses,banquetguests,& expensesin Corfu):
540
Stationery:
280
B a n kF e e s& C h e c kP r i n t i n g :
tzJ
Postage:
281
Web addressacquisition(lawrencedurrell.com
& lawrenced
urrell.org)
:
120
qnn
DurrellPrizefor New Scholarship:
Total value of all Societyaccounts on 1 November2000:
CheckingAccount:
Certificate
of Deoosit:
$12,824(c)
7,504(c)
5,320
(c) Includes$1,000restricted
fundsfor DeusLoci#7.
Anticipatedbills to be paid before 30 December2000:
DeusLoci #7'.
about$7500
The fundsin the Society'scheckingaccountare currentlyallocatedas follows:
Fund:
Conference
$28s.74
P u b l i c a t i o nFsu n d :
4016.88
G e n e r aFl u n d :
3201.73
T o t a li n C h e c k i n g :
$7,504.35 Thesefundsare on depositwith Bankof America,N.A.
7A7^7^7^h
F R O MT H EE D I T O R
Susan S. MacNiven
r-\
lJuring the Corfuconference,
I
keptremembering
LD at On
M i r a c l eG r o u n dl V i n 1 9 8 6
sittingin the auditorium
at
Pennsylvania
StateUniversity
concentrating
on the voicesthat
emanatedfrom the stage.At
first somewhatreluctantto be
the objectof so much attention,
soon he was impressedby the
effortthe participantshad made
to understand
and interorethis
work, and he attendedevery
presentation.
LastJuly in Corfu,two
Durrells--Margaret
Durrell,
(Larry'ssister)and Penelope
(hisdaughter)-Durrell-Hope
were presentat the conference.
Physically,
Margaretresembles
her brotherLarry,especiallyin
her very blue,engagingeyes.
The eyesof both have/hada
glintof humor,but whereasLD's
containedan ironicsadness(at
leastby the time I met him in
gaze is
1975),Margaret's
m i s c h i e v o uA
s .n d P e n e l o o h
eas
a strikingresemblance
to her
beautifulmother.Thus I could
easilyimaginethatthe spiritsof
LD and Nancywerewith us at
OMG Xl. Margaretcharmed
everyonewithtalesabouther
brothersand abouther daysin
Corfu,and Penelopetold a
touchingstoryabouther search
for her pastin Kalamata.
NanosValaoritis,
John
L e a t h a ma, n d P e n e l o p e
Tremayne--who
knewLD during
his daysin Athens,Rhodes,and
Cyprusrespectively--also
sharedtheirmemoriesand
insightsaboutLD. Valaoritis,
the lastof the majorfigureswho
workedon literaryprojectswith
Larryin 1939and the early
1940s,gave a fascinating
ac:ountabouttr. ating
Serferiswith LD and Bernard
Spencerand impliedthat his
contactwith these poets
inspiredhis subsequent
career
as an emissaryof Greek poetry
firstin Londonand laterin San
Francisco.
I enjoyedthe varietyof
meetingplacesin Corfu.The
formalChamberof
handsome,
Commercewas the venuefor
The
two eveningsessions.
ratherstarkauditorium
in the
Old Fortress,reachecjby a dark,
curving,subterranean
walk-way
recallingHenryMiller's
"fallopian
trolley,"was the site
of threeplenarysessions.
But
the majorityof the meetings
wereheldat the lonianCultural
Centerat Falirakiand the Corfu
ReadingSociety.Whilewe sat
intheauditorium
oftheFaliraki,
r i g h to n t h e l o n i a nS e a ,a
marvelousbreezeand a view of
boatspassingby mitigatedthe
effectsof the hightemperatures
and recharged
our energies.
The Corfu ReadingSociety,
foundedin 1836and saidto be
the oldestculturalinstitution
in
modernGreece,occupiesa
charming19th-century
aristocratic
houseand is filled
with old books,maps,
photographs,
and paintings--it
was the perfectplacefor
bibliophiles.
O n e o f t h e m o s tm o v i n g
momentsof the conference
was
at the openingof the Seferis&
Durrellexhibition
whenDavid
Roesselledthe singingof
the
Seferis'spoem"Denial";
Greeksin the audienceknew
the words,provingthe poetis
honoredin his own country.
Alsowonderfulto witnesswas
the delightof the childrenas
theywatchedthe Spatharis
ShadowPuppetTheatre.
Durrellians
weretreatedto
culinarydelicacies
in lovely
outdoorsettingsat the reception
sponsored
by Chrysanthos
Sarlis,Mayorof Corfu,and the
o n eg i v e nb y F ' ^ ' . s ' o r G e o r g e
Demetriades,
Prcsrdent
of the
l o n i a nU n i v e r s i t y .
partici
pants
Conference
donatedover 100,000
drachmasto SpirosSpathas,
judgedthe "worst
the individual
affected"by the terribleforest
firewhichbeganon 6 July and
ragedfor five days. Mr.
Spathas'Venetianhome,used
by the BBC for the filmingof My
Family and Other Anrmals,was
saved,but he lost470 olive
trees,according
to an article
("ForestFireDevastates'My
Family'Estate")in the Corfol of
August2000.
I wouldliketo thanka few
very helpfulindividuals
not
mentionedelsewhere.
Mania,
Dimitris,and LilianneCharitos
werethe backboneof the
conference
logistics.
In addition,
theywereespecially
solicitous
of peoplewithspecialneeds.
S.N.Dendias,President
of the
Chamberof Commerce,most
generously
let us use a meeting
room.And the familyof
Anastasius
Athenaios,
LD's
landlordin the 't930s,opened
Larryand Nancy'squartersin
the White Housefor us to walk
through.
NOTICES
ILDS
R e m e m b etro r e n e wy o u r
Societymembership--or
if you
are not a member,join now-beforePaulLorenzfinishesthe
new Membership
Directory;
a n n u adl u e sa r e$ 1 0 U S a y e a r
f o r i n d i v i d u aaln d $ 1 5 U S f o r
d u a lm e m b e r s h i plsf .y o u h a v e
not yet purchasedDeus Loci
NS6,ordera copy,or orderone
of the earliernumbers,from
Paul(3201S. BeechStreet
# 4 0 ,P i n eB l u f f ,A R 7 1 6 0 3 ,
U S A ) ;t h e p r i c ei s o n l y$ 1 0 U S
per volume,pl'ls postage
outsidethe US.
The next Heraldis scheduled
f o r ' : r l y A p r i l2 0 0 1 .P l e a s e
sendnewsaboutyourscholarly
pursuits,
travels,hobbies--
whateveryou wishto sharewith
yourfellowDurrellians.
Also,
pleasereportany mention,short
comment,article,book,film
aboutLD that you discover;we
appreciate
all bibliographical
information
relatingto LD. Send
materialby 31 Marchto Susan
MacNiven,Box 162,Athens,
NY 12015-0162
U,S A ;p h o n e :
5 1 8 - 9 4 3 - 7 1 8e9-;m a i l :
<imacniven@suny
maritime.edu>.
Don'tforgetto savethe dates
20-24 June2A02for OMG Xll in
Ottawa,Ontario.Canada!
D U R R E L LS C H O O LO F
CORFU
Whenthe DurrellInstitute
p l a n n e df o r 2 8 J u n et o 1 1 J u l y
in Corfuby Anna Lilliosdid not
materialize,
RichardPine,who
for manyyearshad been
suggesting
that a teaching
institutebe held in conjunction
withthe Durrellconference,
decidedto establisha Durrell
Schoolof Corfu(DSC)that
wouldincludethe workof both
Lawrenceand GeraldDurrell.
The DSC initiallywill run for two
weeksandwill include
academiclectures,seminars,
excursions
to placesrelevantto
the Durrells,
and eveningsocial
programs.
lf you havesuggestions
for
lecturesor seminars,wishto
participate
in the DSC,wantto
journals,or
donatearticles,
booksby or aboutthe Durrells,
or can recommendstudents
who may be interested
in
attendingthe inauguralSchool
scheduled
for the summerof
2002,contactRichardPine,38
GrosvenorPark,Dublin6,
lreland;phone/fax:
353-1-4964423',e-mail:
<richardpin@ei
rcom.net>.
2OOO
MLA
A q u i c ks k i m m i n go f t h e
programfor the annualModern
LanguageAssociation
Convention,
27-30December
2000 in Washington,
D.C.
showsthat four membersof the
ILDS--Peter
Christensen,
Reed
Dasenbrock,
JohnMaynard,
and Jack Stewart--are
listed.
EarlIngersoll
alsoplansto
attend.No paperspecifically
on
LD seemsto be included;
however,if you go to the
convention,
keepan ear tuned
for LD references.
C O N F E R E N C]EN I N D I A
Lizzi.
Compelledto sharethat local
magic,Lizzihas addedCorfuto
her list of Travel Workshoosfor
2 0 0 1 .S h ew i l ls p o n s oor t h e r
paintingtripsto coastalMaine
and the mountainsof Mexico
laterin the year.Information
is
availableon theseworkshops
by calling Lizzi a|732-929-9732
or writingher at PO Box 1012,
lslandHeights,NY 08732,USA.
hlhlh
NEWSFROMCYPRUS
t\l
l \ o r a N a d j a r i a na, y o u n g
C . R a v i n d r aN
n a m b i a irs
Cypriotwriterand journalist,
plannina
g c o n f e r e n cien I n d i a
attendedOMG Xl and offeredto
for earlyJanuary.ContactRavi
sendthe Heraldnewsfrom her
a t < c r a v i @ m d 5 . v s n l . n e t . i n > . islandrelatingto Lawrence
Durrell.She alsokeepsthe
BACK TO CORFU
Cypriotsup to date on newsof
LD: for the Weekly Review
I n e a r l yJ u n e2 0 0 1 ,a g r o u po f
[Cyprus]of 28 July 2000,she
artistswill be visitingCorfu,
wrote"LawrenceDurrell:Under
viewinghills,cypresses,
the Microscope,"
and the
a brief,vivid
colorfullaundryin old-town
accountof LD'syearsin Corfu
alleyswithan eye for miracles.
and Cyprusand of the Corfu
Searching
the backroads,
conference.
villages,and bird-filled
sky for
RecentlyNora intervieweda
inspiration,
artists,
renownedCypriotartistand
photographers,
and their
learnedthat he had knownLD.
c o m p a n i o nwsi l ld e l i g hitn t h i s
She reports:"Valentinos
creativejourney.
Charalambous,
a GreekCypriot
The groupwill be led by Lizzi
ceramicartistbornin
Schippertand her husband,
Famagustaand now a resident
SvenWiden,bothlong-time
of Limassol,remembers
professional
artists.They have
meetingLawrenceDurrellin the
exhibitedtheirartworkin
1950s,togetherwith other
dozensof exhibitions
writersincludingGeorge
internationally,
andtheirartwork Seferis,FreyaStark,and John
is heldin manyprivateand
L e h m a n n .I "n t h e A u t u m n2 0 0 0
publiccollections
on several
Sunjet,the CyprusAirwaysincontinents.
f l i g h tm a g a z i n eN, o r ap u b l i s h e d
"Valentinthe CeramicArlist,"a
You mighthave met Lizzi,she
accompanied
JenniferLeonard
fascinating
sketchof
to thisyear'sDurrellconference C h a r a l a m b o u ss'tsu d y i n g
and
o n t h a te n c h a n t eids l a n d".l t
workingin Cornwall,Cyprus,
seemsthat Corfuslillcastsa
a n d B a g h d a da n d a c h i e v i n g
"' says
spellon the 'foreign-boi'n
i n t e r n a t i o nfaalm e .A n e x h i b iot f
hiswork openedat the Leach
Museumin St lves,Cornwall,in
September2000.
When LD was in Cyprus,he
madeplatesand tookthem to a
potteryto be fired. lt would be
interestingto ascertainwhether
or not Charalambous
helped
with LD'sproductions.
In her articleNoramentions
t h a ti n t h e 1 9 5 0 s
joineda groupof
Charalambous
Cypriotartists,"almostall of
whom had returnedfrom their
studiesin England,to form a
small,selectassemblyof
Cypriottalent.This includedthe
paintersAdamantios
Diamantis,
Telemachos
Kanthos.
Christophoros
Savvaand
GeorgePol Georghiou,
who
wereto subsequently
lay the
foundations
of contemporary
Cypriotart"(69).Georghiou
becamea friendof LD, who
wrotean articleabout
Georghiou's
Parisexhibition
for
the Cyprus Review.
PEOPLE,PLACESAND
PUBLICATIONS
^ VictoriaAmador's paper
"Costumeas an Aesthetic
Necessity:
AnaisNin and the
P a r i sC o u t u r eo f t h e 1 9 3 0 s ,a" n
adaptation
of the talk by the
sametitlethat she presented
at
O M G X i n C i n c i n n a tai ,p p e a r si n
Anais:An lnternationalJournal
1 7 ( 1 9 9 9 )p, p . 8 7 - 9 4 ,
accompanied
by three
wonderfulphotosof Anais.
* Khani Begum delivereda
paper,"D.H.Lawrenceas
Postcolonial
Visionary?
Rescription
of Raceand Gender
in Kangarooand The Plumed
Serpent,"
at "ThePostcolonial
Lawrence"
sessionat the 1999
ModernLanguageAssociation
C o n v e n t i oinn C h i c a g o .
* Duringthe summer,Roger
Bowen spentsix weeksin
Thailandand Cambodia.At
presenthe is workingon a
projectaboutwesternwritersin
Southeast
Asiafrom the time of
JosephConradto the postVietnamWar era.
* ln the D.H. LawrenceReview
, e i t hC u s h m a n
2 8 . 3( 1 9 9 9 )K
reviews The Hand of the Poet:
Poemsand Papersin
Manuscript.With essays by
DanaGioia.Editedby Rodney
P h i l l i p se, t a l . ( N Y :R i z z o l i ,
1997.358pp.$40) The book,
which'originatedas a two-part
exhibition
aboutthe
compositionof poetry"at the
NewYork PublicLibrary,
reproduces
manuscript
materials,
visualdocuments,
a n d u n u s u am
l e m o r a b i l ioaf 1 0 0
poets"ranging
English-language
chronologically
from Donneand
Popeto DanaGioiaand Julia
Alvarez."
ln the sameDHLRin the
"Lawrentiana"
column,Keith
mentionsPaulHogarth's
publishingcollaborations
with
GrahamGreene,Robert
Graves,and LawrenceDurrell,
"most
but statesthat Hogarth's
project,
extensivetravel
Escape
to the Sun,expresseshis
devotionto his 'firstliterary
h e r o , ' D . HL. a w r e n c e . "
I n t h e D H L R2 9 . 1( 2 0 0 0 ) ,
Keithreviewsthree booksby
D.H.Lawrenceissuedby
Penguinin the TwentiethCenturyClassicsseries:Ihe
Woman Who Rode Away and
Other Stories(1996),Kangaroo
(1997),and St. Mawr and Other
Slories(1997).
* Amy M. Flaxman'sNew
Anatomies:TracingEmotionsin
Henry Miller's Writings (2000) is
availablein a SpecialEdition
signedby the authorand the
publisher,
BernPorter
(publisher
of HenryMillerin the
1940s), for $50 US, and in a
StandardEditionfor $35 US.
Both editionsare hardcover,
linenbound,
and illustrated.
Orderfrom Bern Porter
Editions,PO Box 1638,Gracie
Station,NewYork,NY 10028.
Add $4 for postage.
* Alan W. Friedman's"D.H.
Lawrence:
Pleasureand Death"
appearsin Studiesin the Novel
[U. of NorthTexas]32.2
(Summer2000),pp.207-227.
Also in 2000, Beckettin Black
and Red: The Translationsfor
Nancy Cunard'sNegro edited
by Alanwas published
by the
UP of Kentucky.
The
broadsheet
announcing
this
bookstatesthat it "radically
revaluesbothCunardand
Negroand reconceivesBeckett
as profoundlyengagedwith
majorhistorical
and intellectual
concernsof the twentieth
century."
BarneyRossetclaims
it "[o]pensup a wholenew
Beckett."Beckettcan be
purchasedfrom the UP of
Kentucky,
OrderDepartment,
663 SouthLimestone
Street,
Lexington,
KY 40508-4008;
the
priceis $34.95plus$3.50
postagein the US or $4 postage
elsewhere.
For phoneorders,
call 800-839-6855.
' 'The Most Personalof Writers:
On the Difficulties
of Writing
aboutAnaisNin' by Paul
Herronis includedin Anais'16
( 1 e e 8 )p, p . 7 3 - 7 8 .
' D.H. Lawrence,Desire,and
Narrativeby Earl lngersoll will
be published
by the UP of
F l o r i d ai n e a r l y2 0 0 1 .E a r li s t h e
currentoresident
of The D.H.
LawrenceSocietyof North
America.
* Grove Koger writesthat
thanksto recommendations
from SusanVanderClosterand
SusanMacNiven,he hastaken
on thc LawrenceDurrellsection
of The Annotated Bibliography
for EnglishSfudies.He will also
writeentriesfor LD and Norman
Douglasand theirworksfor
anotherelectronicreference
work, The Literary Dictionary.
With fellowlibrarianLarry
Kincaid,Grovepublished
"CensoringLady Chafterley's
Lover.A Case Studyand
Bibliographic
Guide"in RSR:
Reference Services Review
28.2 (240q. Grove'sarticle
"NativeSon: Searchingfor
Tracesof EzraPoundin
Venice"appearedin the Eoise
Weeklyfor 17-23August2000.
(Poundwas bornin ldaho,of all
places!)Grovecontributed
entrieson JamesMichener,
Nordhoffand Hall,H.P.
Lovecraft,and "Marooned"
Literatureto An Encyclopediaof
American Literature of the Sea
and the Great Lakes,published
by GreenwoodPressin
November.
a
Groveis alsopreparing
guideto the great
book-length
travelbooks,and wouldenjoy
hearingfrom ILDSmembers
aboutfavoriteworks,especially
those--astravelwrilersare wont
to say--offthe beatentrack.
* Paul Lorenz presented"The
NovelWithoutWords:Reading
FransMasereel'sPassionafe
Journef'at the annualmeeting
o f t h eA r k a n s a P
s hilological
Association
heldin Memphis,
in October2000.
Tennessee,
FransMasereelwas a noted
and friendof
Flemishillustrator
BlaiseCendrars.Passionafe
Journeyis a novelin 165
woodcutsthat was first
p u b l i s h eidn 1 9 ' 1 9A. t t h e
Paulwa- "'lc:ted
conference,
oresidentof the Arkansas
Philological
Association.
Paul'sessay"Onlythe Pub ls
Real:Claude'sMrs. O',"
appearsin Publicationsof the
MississrppiPhiIoIogicaI
2000,whichwill be
Association
available
i n J a n u a r y2 0 0 1 .
* lan & Susan MacNivenhave
just retiredfrom SUNY Maritime
College;however,they stillwill
havean officethere,and their
Bronxcollegeand home
numbersin the Society
Directory
will continueto be
good--butit may be difficultto
reachthem in the Bronxsince
theydo not planto spendmuch
time there.Theirprimary
addressis now PO Box 162,
phone
Athens,NY 120'15-0'162;
518-943-71
89.
* ln Mineshaff
[Guilford,
Vermontl4 (2000)are two
piecesby Karl Orend:"The
LandBeyondthe Forests"(pp.58), an essayaboutthe peopleof
T r a n s y l v a n iaan, d ' S o f t
a poem.
Thunder"(pp.2A-21),
* On the firstSundayof
October,membersof The
EdgarAllanPoe Societyof
whosepresident
is
Baltimore,
Carol Peirce,and otherPoe
aficionados
olacedwreathson
Poe'sgrave,as has beenthe
customfor about75 years,This
a n n u agl a t h e r i nign c l u d etsh e
readingof a paperby a national
Poe scholarand remarksby a
of
the relationship
respondent;
musicto Poe
early19'n-century
topic.
was this October's
' BernardShaw and the French
by Michel Pharandis
for publication
this
scheduled
y e a rb y t h e U P o f F l o r i d a .
" PatrickQuinn has hadtwo
his second
booksoublished:
l0
volume of lhe Dictionaryof
Great War Poefs and New
Perspectiveson RobertGrayes.
* GreatestHits,1978-2000is
the latest book of poemsby
David Radavich. lt is available
from PuddingHouse
Publications,
60 NorthMain
Street,Johnstown,
Ohio43031
at $8.95.PuddingHouse
"hitsfrom some of the
publishes
greatestpoetsfrom the
contemporary
Americanliterary
landscape.
The poemsmost
often requestedfor reprintor
performance,the pieces
remembered
mostby theirfans
a n dg r o u p i e s . "
David's play The Life of
Bonneurwas read by
Playwrights
Expressin St. Louis
overthe 2-3 Decemberweekend.
When not writingorteaching,
Davidworksas presidentof the
FacultyUnionat Easternlllinois
University.
* I n t h e D H L R 2 8 . 3( 1 9 9 9 )J, a c k
Stewart reviewsthree booksby
D.H.Lawrenceissuedin the
World'sClassicsseriesby
OxfordUP: The Prussian
Officerand Other Stories
(1995),Sons and Loyers
(1998),and Womenin Love
( 1e e 8) .
Jack'sarticle"Color,Space,
and Placein Lawrence's
Letters"appearsin the DHLR
2 9 . 1( 2 0 0 0 )p, p . 1 9 - 3 6 .
* C a t h e r i nA
el d i n g t oa
nn dH . R .
StonebackdirectedThe
International
RichardAldington
Conference23-24 Junein Les
SaintesMaries-de-la-Mer,
France.Heldin Catherine's
charminghome,the gathering
'16people
was small--some
attended--and
delightfully
informaland convivial.Several
o t h e rD u r r e l l i a nast t e n d e dJ:a n e
K e l l e r l,a n & S u s a nM a c N i v e n ,
CarolPeirce,J.A. Sparrow
and F.-J.Temple.
Stoneback,
On 8 December,Stoneyread
fronr his new book,Cafd
Millennium& Other Poems and
signedcopiesat Ariel
Booksellers
in New Paltz,NY.
The 144-pagebookcan be
purchasedfrom PortalsPress,
4411 Fontainebleau,
New
Odeans,LA 70125for $15 US
(postagepaidin the US; add $5
outsideof the US).
Cafd Millenniumwas first
performedat the International
RichardAldingtonConference
in June2000and then at the LD
conference
in Corfuin July.
* Fr6d6ric-Jacques
Temple
will have his article"Remyde
Gourmontet les lmagistes"
publishedin L'Hernein 2000(?).
. ILDSPresident
Anne Zahlan
presenteda paperentitled
"UnholyLand:The Dystopian
MiddleEastof VardisFisher's
Testamentof Man" atlhe
WesternLiteratureAssociation
Conferenceheld in Octoberat
the University
of Oklahoma.A
longerversionof the paperis
comingout in Decemberin
Rediscovering Vardis Fi sher:
(U. of ldaho
CentennialEssays
Press,2000).
Anne reada paperat the
SouthAtlanticMLA in
Birmingham
i n t h es p e c i a l
session"ThomasWolfeat 100."
Her paperwas titled"Sitting
WhereVan GoghSat:
Milestones
Alongthe Narrative
Way in ThomasWolfe'sOf
Time and the River."
RecentlyAnne becamethe
ArticlesEditorof the lhomas
WolfeReview.She is also on
the FacultySenateat Eastern
l l l i n o i sU n i v e r s i t y .
hhlhh
BIBLIOGRAPHIC
NOTES
Grove Koger &
Susan S. MacNiven
BY LD
BOOKS
' Justine, Balthazar,Mountolive,
and Cleawere publishedin the
G.K. HallLargePrintPerennial
Bestseller
Collection
in 2000.
CONTRIBUTIONS
TO BOOKS
& PERIODICALS
* A selectionby LD will appear
in Travelers'TalesGreece:
True Storiesof Life on the Road
(f ravelers'Tales,2000).
' Part of the ad for The Cynic's
Dictionaryby AubreyDillonMalonein the Bas 8/eu
catalogue,
Vol.53 (Holiday
2000)is a quoteof LD's:his
definitionof 'poem"-"What
happenswhenanxietymeets
technique."
* Lawrence Dunell and the
Greek World: Proceedingsof
the ConferenceSesslon of July
5, 2000,editedby Panos
(Corfu:lonian
Karagiorgos
University,
2000),is a very
printed62-page
handsomely
paoerback
containing
the four
papersreadat that evening
sessionandthe concluding
discussion,
a pageabouteach
contributor,
and a copyof the
entireOMG Xl program.
paper,"An
Karagiorgos's
Unpublished
Letterof Lawrence
Durrellto MarieAspioti,"centers
19
abouta letter,postmarked
S e p t e m b e r ' 1 9 5o5f ,L D t o M a r i e
Aspioti;thereis a photocopy
of
the letterincludedin the book.
"Lawrence
Durrellon Rhodes"is
by John Leatham,who was a
11
lt
colleagueof LD'son Rhodes.
PenelopeTremayne,who met
LD on Cyprusand livedin his
homein BellapaixafterLD left
"Lawrence
the island,presented
Durrellon Cyprus."Marios
ByronRaizis,who has had a
distinguished
academiccareer
i n C a r b o n d a l el l,l i n o i sa, n d i n
Athens,wherehe met LD, read
"Lawrence
Durrelland the
GreekPoets:A Contribution
to
CulturalHistory."
* HilaryWhittonPaipetibegins
one sectionof her 'Ear to the
Ground"columnin the Corfofof
August2000witha quotation
aboutKalami from
ChapterI of Prospero'sCel/.
" "SirHurtHurt"by Richard
Jenkyns,a reviewof Osberf
SitwellbyPhilipZieglerin the
New Republic(1 May 2000),
quotesLD'snegativeopinionof
Sitwell'smemoirs.
" "Sketchof a Greek
Correspondence:
Lawrence
Durrelland GeorgeKatsimbalis"
appearsin Deus Loci: The
LawrenceDurrellJournal,NS 6
(1998).Five lettersby LD to
previously
Katsimbalis,
unpublished
and recently
uncoveredin Athensby Avi
Sharon,are presented
herewith
an essayby Sharonstressing
Katsimbalis's
importance
to the
artisticdevelopment
of LD and
of HenryMilleralso.
The essaysectionof this
issuebeginswithSoadHussein
S o b h y ' s ' A l e x a n d rai sa
Groddeck's
lt,"whichis
precededby tributesto her from
two of her closefriends,Aleya
Saidand ZeinabRaafat.
Following
thisare essaysby
J a m e sA . B r i g h a ma n dJ . A .
DouglasBrigham("CityFullof
Dreams:Durrell's
Alexandria
and the Ghostof Baudelaire').
EdmundKeeley("Miller,Durrell,
and TheirGreekFriends,19391947"),Paul Lorenz("'O World
of LittleMirrorsin the Light':Al
Khdmii in TheAvignon
Quintet'),PatrickQuinn ("Down
intothe Labyrinthand Beyond
the Ego"),DavidRoessel("'Cut
in Half as lt Was': Editorial
Excisionsand the Original
Shapeof Reflections
on a
MarineVenus"),CharlesL.
Sligh("Reading
the Divergent
W e a v e : AN o t ea n d S o m e
Soeculations
on Durrelland
Cort6zar"),and Jack F. Stewart
("Painterly
Writing:Durrell's
lslandLandscapes").
The themeof the second
White MiceContestwas Time;
included
a r et h e w i n n i n gp o e m s :
"lnstructions
to the Readerof
Poetry"by JudithBarrington,
"Today"by KennethC.
Anderson,"Old Photograph'
by
Pat Schneider,
and "NotMerely
in Dakshineshwad'
by Usha
Akella.A seriesof poems
collectivelyentitled"Warp and
Weft" by SharaeDeckard
completesthe poetrysection.
"ln Memory"is a tributeto Bill
Kinser,the artistand graphic
designerwho designedthe
programsof the firsttwo Durrell
conferences,
by Neil Kleinman.
Ten booksare reviewedin
thisvolume.Primarymaterial
includesthe MarlowePressreissuesof Spiritof Place and
SicilianCarousel(JaneEblen
Keller),the recordingsof lhe
AlexandriaQuartetnovels by
(Grove
NaxosAudioBooks
Koger),and EarlG. Ingersoll's
collectionof interviews
with LD.
Lawrence Durrell:
(Donald
Conversations
Kaczvinsky).
Otherreviewsare of Jonathan
Bolton'sPersonalLandscapes:
BritishPoetsin Egypt During
the Second World War (David
Radavich),Brassal"sHenry
Miller: The Paris Years and
MarjaWarehime'sErassai.'
lmages of Culture and the
Surrealist Observer (Susan
VanderCloster),lan S.
MacNiven'sLawrenceDurrell:A
Biography(RichardPine),
RaghubirSingh'sThe Grand
Trunk Road: A Passage
Through/ndra(lan S.
MacNiven),
and Anthony
Weller's Days and Nighfs on the
GrandTrunkRoad (JenniferL.
Leonard).
UnderNotes& Queriesare
DavidRoessel's'Seferis
and
the Postman,"MarkLund's
'Query:
What'sBeenMadeof
VirginiaWoolf?,"and a review
of HilaryWhittonPaipeti's/n fhe
Foofsfeps of Lawrence Durrell
and Gerald Durrellin Corfu
(1935-39):A Modern Guidebook
( l a nS . M a c N i v e n ) .
ANA: FOCUSON DURRELL
' ln 'New Friendsfor New
Places:EnglandRediscovers
Greece"(in OrionFall 2000),
Avi SharontreatsNanos
Valaoritis,
GeorgeSeferis,
WystanHughAuden,LD, John
L e h m a n nH, e n r yM i l l e ra, n d
BernardSpencer.
* In "Lawrence
DurrellHonoured
at KalamiWhite House"(Corfiot
August2000,pp.7-8),Hilary
WhittonPaipetidescribes
the
ceremonyhonoringLD thatwas
conductedby VasilisKatsaros,
t h e M a y o ro f K a s s i o p oi ,n 6 J u l y
whilethe participants
of the
eleventhLawrenceDurrell
conference
were in Kalami.An
officialplaqueinstalledon the
WhiteHouse--with
the message
i n G r e e ka n d i n E n g l i s h":l N
T H I SH O U S EL I V E DT H E
F A M O U SW R I T E R
L A W R E N C ED U R R E L L( 1 9 3 s
1939)"--was
unveiledl;,
MargaretDurrelland Penelope
T2
Durrell-Hope,
and the main
street,on whichthe White
Houseis situated,was named
"LawrenceDurrellStreet."Other
conference
highlights
are also
mentioned.
* NoraNadjarian's
"Lawrence
Durrell:Underthe Microscope,"
WeeklyReview[Cyprus]28 July
2000,p.59.See NEWS FROM
C Y P R U S p, . 8 ,
" "LawrenceDurrell'sErection:
SourceMaterialsfor Prospero's
Cell,"the paperthat Hilary
WhittonPaipetipresentedat
OMG Xl, appearsin the Corfiot
o f J u l y2 0 0 0 ,p p . 1 4 - 1 6 , 2 1 .
* In "TheSpiritof Durrell's
Places"(LondonMagazine
J u n e / J u l2y0 0 0 ,p p . 3 3 - 4 1 ) ,
R . W .C h a l l o n erre m i n i s c e s
abouthis meetingswith LD after
they first becameacquaintedin
Cyprusin 1954and wondersif
any of LD'sspiritremainsin his
variousdwellings:
the housein
Bellapaix,
the MazetMichel
n e a rN i m e s ,a n d M a d a m e
Tartesin Sommidres.Challoner
describeshis attempts,
b e g i n n i nign 1 9 8 9 ,t o a r r a n g ea
meetingbetweenLD and
GrahamGreene;however,the
alternating
ill healthof both
writersmadethat impossible.
* "An Anglo-Hellenic
Colossus"
by Avi Sharonin the AngloHellenicReview[London]21
(Spring2000),pp.3-4has only
three referencesto LD, but
GeorgeKatsimbalis,
the
"Colossus,"
playeda majorrole
i n L D ' sd e v e l o p m e nats a p o e t
and thusthis articleshould
interestDurrellians.
" Jack Stewart's"Objectsin
S p a c ea n dT i m e :M e t o n y m iyn
Durrell'slslandBooks"appears
in Sfy/e34.1(Spring2000),
pp.78-91.
This is a revisionof
the paperthat Jack readat the
ILDSconference
in Alexandria
in 1996.
* The 7 August1999 Specfator
contains"RecentAudioBooks'
in whichPeterLevi blaststhe
of
lsisAudioBookspresentation
The Alexandria Quaftet and
alsothe novels.Levi'spositive
note is that he considersLD "a
very great poet.At his best
thereis no one alivenowwho
can touchhim."LD wouldhave
lovedtheselines.
* JamesGifford's"Reading
Orientalism
and the Crisisof
in the Novelsof
Epistemology
LawrenceDurrell"appearsin
CLCWeb:Comparative
Literature and Culture: A
WWWeb Journal 1.2 (June
1999).
* A paragraph
aboutEdmund
Keeley'slnventingParadise:
The Greek Journey (May 1999;
see Herald21) is in the "Briefly
Noted"sectionof the New
Yorker23 & 30 August1999.
. In Catherine
Aldington's
exquisitelittlebook Poemsto
Send on their Way (Sles.
Maries-de-la-Mer,
France:
GregauPress,1999)is one
shortpoemaboutLD, "Zen."
The coverof the bookhasthe
drawingby LD that appearedin
the Frenchtranslation
of
RichardAldington'sDreamin
the Luxembourg,publishedby
ActesSud in '1976.
"Zen"and anotherpoemfrom
thiscollection
will be includedin
Deus Loci NS 7.
* "TheCelestialRecorder:
An
Interview
with lan MacNiven"by
Joe W. Bratcherlll is in lhe
DirtyGoat 10 (1999).The
conversation
focuseson the
writingof MacNiven'sLawrence
Durrell: A Biography.
" MaryMathew'sessay"'Our
ManyLarvalSelves':Durrell's
Liviaand the
Signal"is in lhe
Cross-Cultural
Foreign Woman in British
Literature:Exotics,Aliens,and
Oufsrders(Greenwood,1999).
conjunctionof the two books
emergesan in-depthportraitof
anengaging
h u m a nb e i n g . "
* ConfluencesXV: Lawrence
Durrell(Nanterre:Universit6
Paris-X,1998),editedby
Corinne Alexandre-G
arner,
containsthe Actesdu Colloque
pourI'inauguration
de la
Bibliotheque
Durrellsousla
* Purportedlya reviewof lan
directionde CorinneAlexandreGarnerorganis6A I'Universite
MacNiven's
and Gordon
ParisX-Nanterre
les 17-18
Bowker'sbiographiesof LD and
octobre
1997.
The
eleven
of DonaldKaczvinsky's
essaysin Frenchand twelvein
Lawrence Dunell's Major
Englishare arrangedas follows.
Novels, or The Kingdom of the
An Introduction
by Corinne
lmagination,"A Small Blond
Firework:
The FertileLimitations Alexandre-Garner.
l. Pr6sentacion
de la
of LawrenceDurrell"(New
B
i
b
l
i
o
t
h
e
q
u
e
:
'
U
nBei b l i o t h e q u e
Republic14 &21 September
maudite?"by ChantalBarthoux.
1 9 9 8 ,p p . 5 5 - 5 6 , 5 8 - 6b0y) P e t e r
l l . H o m m a g e s' A
: miti6
Green,is an attackon LD, but a
litteraire"
by
Michel
Deon;
tributeto his poetryand The
"Lawrence
Durrell
en
AlexandriaQuaftet.Green does
M6diterran6e'by Fr6d6ricoffer some interestinganalyses
Jacques
Temple;"Lettred
of LD the man,for example,
LawrenceDurrell"by Jacques
Green'sbeliefthat LD was
Lacarridre.
drawnto Miller(whomGreen
l l l . P o i n t sd e v u e :" R 6 v e r
seemsto detest),Nin,and
id6ologiq
uementd'Alexandrie"
Perldsbecausethey,like
by
Jacques
Hassoun;"Gendse
himself,wereautodidacts.
du projet Sapphode Lawrence
as
GreenpraisesKaczvinsky
Durrell"by LaurenceAndreini.
"the
beingrightin interpreting
lV. Le parcoursd'une6criture:
underlying
themeol The
"The
Aquarians"
by Richard
AlexandriaQuartet. . . as a
P
i
n
e
.
questfor wholeness,"
and in
V. EntreOrientet Occident:
"seeingGreeceas the lost
voisinageet pol6miques:
paradise,
ruinedfor everfor
"Hermetica,
Relativity,
and
Durrellafterhe fled Cyprusin
Place
in
The
Alexandria
1957underthe threatof
Quartef'by RichardHood;"An
assassination."
Intruderfrom the East"by
* LindsayClarkein "What'sin a
J a m e sA . B r i g h a m":F r o m
Durrellto Desai:The Egyptian
Novel?"(Resurgence195
Connection
in lndo-Anglian
review
1999]),
a
of
[July/August
Literature"
by
Geeta
lan MacNiven's Lawrence
"Durrellas
Ganapathy-Dor6;
Durrell:A Biography(1998),is
Magical
Realist"
by
Linda
muchmoresympathetic
to LD
.East
Stump
Rashidi;
and West:
suggests
than PeterGreen.She
CurrentCriticalResoonses
to
that "[f]ora fuller,morecubist
The AlexandriaQuartet' by
picture,"MacNiven's
book
CarolPeirce;"Durrell's
Paris"by
should
be readwithGordon
l
i
l
l
i
o
s
.
A
n
n
a
"out
vl<er's
of the
biography.
ta
IJ
Vl. Analysestextuelles:
"Technology
and Survivalin the
Worldof Self in the Fictionof
LawrenceDurrell"by Paul H.
Lorenz;"Le pendulede Durrell:
la narrationironiquedans lhe
AlexandriaQuaftef' by Matthew
'Tunc et Nunquam:
Escobar;
Romansd'anticipation?"
by
Marc Rolland,"Writingthe Pont
du Gard"by StephanieMoore.
Vll. Histoire/ Repr6sentation
et transmission:
de I'histoire
.The HistoricalPicturesof
Durrell'sConstance"by Susan
VanderCloster;"Deuxr6fugi6s
d'eux-mdmes:
The bitter
necessityof exile for Lawrence
Durrell& GeorgesSimenon"by
J a n eE b l e nK e l l e r ;
"Postmodernisme
et oost6criture:I'histoire
de Durrell"by
'Still on
StephanHerbrechter;
the Roadwith Durrell:Lawrence
Durrelland/inPopularCulture"
by H.R.Stoneback.
"De
En guisede conclusion:
la naissance
de l'6criture
d la
bibliotheque
disparue'by
CorinneAlexandre-Garner.
" ln Writers'Housesby
FrancescaPremoli-Drou
lers,
with Photographs
by Erica
Lennardand a Prologueby
Marguerite
Duras(NY:The
VendomePress,'1995
[ E n g l i s thr a n s l a t i o nE] :d i t i o n ds u
Chdne--Hachette
Livre,1994),
thereis a photographic
tour of
LD'shomein Sommidres(as it
was changedafterhis death)
sketchof
and a biographical
him (pp.56-63).
Sectionson LD'sfriendslsak
D i n e s e nJ, e a nG i o n o a
, nd
DylanThomasare also
included;in all,twentywriters'
homesare presented
FILM
* The video LawrenceDurrell:A
Smilein the Mind's Eye was
producedby LandmarkMedia
(3450SladeRun Drive,Falls
Church,VA 22042;800-3424336)in 1999.Narratedby
MargaretMcCall,this BBC
production
is 52 minuteslong
and costs$225.lt was reviewed
very positivelyby Mary Soetein
the LibraryJournalof 1 May
2000.
O n S u n d a y1, 5 A u g u s t1 9 9 8
a t 8 : 1 0p . m . ,S h e i l aH a r v e ys a w
t h e f i l mo n B B CT V C h a n n e2l
(it was part of the BBC's
"Bookmark"
series)and wrote
PaulLorenzaboutit: "lt was
directedand producedby Nadia
Haggarand the main presenter
was MargaretMcCall,although
lan MacNivenand Frangoise
Kestsmanbothfeatured.lan
w a s m a i n l yc o v e r i n tgh e I n d i a n
angleand appearedto be
dressedaccordingly.
Quitean
program."
interesting
ANA: REFERENCE
TO LD
* JohnLeonard's
combined
reviewof Rimbaudby Graham
Robb and Orwell:Wintry
Conscienceof a Generationby
JeffreyMeyersis in the Nationll
December2000,pp.32ff.
Commenting
aboutMeyers'
contention
that"[Orwell]felt
guiltyabouteverything,"
Leonardasks:"Howcome
LawrenceDurrellandAnthony
Burgessneverfelt guiltyabout
fhel colonialserviceor imperial
privilege?"
(36-37).
. "Valentinthe CeramicArtist"
by Nora Nadjarianin Suniet
(CyprusAirwaysin-flight
magazine)
Autumn2000,pp.67,
69, 71 has one reference
to LD.
S e e N E W SF R O MC Y P R U S .
o.8.
. RitaDove haswritten
enthusiastically
aboutLD in two
l4
recent"Poet'sChoice"columns
in the WashingtonPost Book
World.Her columnfor 27
August2000 mentionsherjoy in
discovering
LD and ("more
pleasures")
Constantine
Cavafy.
She features'TheCity"and
"TheGod ForsakesAntony"in
translations
by Rae Dalven,
whosetranslations
she saysshe
now prefersto Durrell's.Dove's
columnfor 3 Septemberonce
a g a i nm e n t i o n D
s u r r e lal n d
Cavafyand goeson to discuss
Mark Doty'scollectionMy
Alexandria,from which she
reproducesthe poem
"Brilliance."
" I n " O n eH a t ,T h r e e
L a n g u a g e si n" t h e 1 3 A u g u s t
2000 New York Times Book
Review"Booksin Brief'section,
p.14,PeterKhouryreviews
Birdsof Passageby Robert
5o16,translated
by John
Brownjohn(Harvill,2000).This
is the storyof Georges
Batrakani,
a 'GreekCatholic
French-speaking
Syrian
businessman'
who becomes
wealthyin early2Oth-century
Cairoby "manufacturing
the
tarboosh'-or
fez."Sol6 "follows
fourgenerations
of the
Batrakani
familyin Egypt,"until
n a t r o n a l i samn d i n d e o e n d e n c e
causethem to leave.The novel
"hascharacters
as exoticas the
setting.. . . Maggi,Georges's
sister-in-law
and occasional
lover,is as sensuousas anyone
in LawrenceDurrell'sAlexandria
Quaftet."
* Suggestively
dressedfashion
modelsin sexuallytitillating
posesdisplaying
themselves
beforeLD, Proust,Joyce,and
otherwriters!Where?At
GeorgeWhitman's
Shakespeare
& Co. in Paris,
wherethe modelswere
photographed
againstwalls
filledwith photosof famous
literati.In "Seeingls Believing:
The FantasyWorld of Paris
Couture"in the /ndependent
Magazine[London]of 5 August
2000,there are two picturesof
LD--oneon the magazine's
cover.
* A characterin the story"The
Girl Who NeverCame"by Scott
Spencerin RollingSfone(6 July
2000)"had a brief
with Lawrence
correspondence
Durrell."
" LD is mentionedin "Justa
LittleMoreWritingabout
Provence"by ThomasSwickin
the SouthFloridaSun-Sentrne/,
carriedby the Knight-Ridder
NewsServicefor 3 July 2000.
PeterMaylesuffersby
comoarison
with LD. we'llall be
gladto know.
* ln AlexanderStille'sarticle
'ResurrectingAlexandria:Can
Rebuilding
the GreatLibrary
Also Redeemthe City?"(New
Yorker8 May 2000,pp.90-99),
there are two referencesto LD.
The Egyptianarchitect
MohamedAwad,who is the
headof the Alexandria
Trustand spokeat
Preservation
O M G l X i n A l e x a n d r iian 1 9 9 6 ,
is mentionedfor his attemptto
saveor at leastto explorethe
archeological
remainsbelowthe
site of the new library."[T]wo
B.C.Greek
second-century
mosaicfloors--almost
as finely
were
detailedas oil paintings"
found,but fundsfor further
excavationran out and "now
ironically,
the new librarymay
be buryingthe ancientlibrary
o n c ea n df o r a l l "( 9 9 ) .
* StephenTumim remarksthat
Gaza is "reminiscent
of
LawrenceDurrell'sand E.M.
in "Diary,"
Alexandri^"
Forster's
New Sfatesman129 (3 April
2000).
" LD is mentionedin "BrassaT,
the Writer' by John L. Brownin
World Literature Today 74
(Winter2000).
* The first of the elevenessays
and threetalesthat comprise
AndreAciman'sFalsePapers
(NY:Farrar,Strausand Giroux,
2000),essayson exileand
memory,is entitled'Alexandria:
The Capitalof Memory."Sound
familiar?Acimanis writing
abouthis returnin 1995to
Alexandria,
cityof his birththat
he at age fourteenand his
familyfled in '1965becauseof
increasing
anti-Semitism.
Overlooking
the easternbay
from the balconyof his roomat
the HotelCecil,Acimanstates:
'l am thinkingof LD and of what
he mighthavefelt standingin
thisvery samehotelmorethan
fifty yearsago' (3-4).(Thereare
two shortLD quotesand two
more referencesto him in this
essay,the onlyone that
mentionsLD.)
Exiledfrom Egypt,Aciman
has livedin ltaly,France,and
the US, but,whereverhe is, his
thoughtsgo backto Alexandria,
whichremainsthe background
of theseessaysand talesthat
focuson loss,remembering,
and analyzing
and refashioning
memones.
The front,insideflap of the
dustjacketstates:"Each
experience
summonsup, in its
ownway,the enduringmemory
of Alexandria--a
citywhose
character,
mystique,
and
strangeparadoxes
are now
forevercastin Aciman'svoice."
one has earlier
Perhaps--unless
becomeimbuedwith Cavafvor
LD,
15
* Artemis Cooper'sWritingat
the Kitchen Table: The
Authorized Biography of
ElizabethDavid
(Harmondsworth,
England:
Penguin,1999;NY: EccoPress
/HarperCollins,
2000)includes
five referencesto LD.
In "BeyondBangers:
ElizabethDavidFaceda
DauntingTask:Awakening
the
EnglishPalateto Sensual
(NYTBR17
Pleasure"
September2000,p.9),a review
of the above,LauraShapiro
statesthat she is surprisedto
see a secondbiography
of
Davidjust two yearsafter "the
admiringand comprehensive
ElizabethDavid, by Lisa
C h a n e yp, u b l i s h eidn 1 9 9 8 , "
and concludes
that "[e]ight
yearsafter [David's]deathand
two biographieslater,we know
a lot abouther life but relatively
littleaboutwhy she mattered."
JulieGray'sreviewof Roger
Williams'sLunch with Elizabeth
David (Carroll& Graf, 2000)
appearsin the'Booksin Brief'
sectionof the 13 August2000
NYI8R. p.14.In this historical
novel,whichwandersbetween
E n g l a n da n d F r a n c ef r o m 1 9 1 0
intothe 1990s,"[r]eaders
sit
downto two splendidlunches
with ElizabethDavid,the late
Englishfoodwriter."Although
"David'ssoiritsuffusesthe
n o v e l ,N
" o r m a nD o u g l a sw, h o
was a goodfriendof David's,
"playsthe leadingrole."
' The December'1999Vogue
magazinehas a pictorialspread
on JacobRothchild's
homeon
Corfu,whichbegins:"Lawrence
Durrell'sbookabouthis idyllic
childhood
on Corfu[sic!]
describes
an all-but-vanished
world.For mostpeoplewho
visitthe greenestof the Greek
islandsnow,the smellof suntan
l o t i o nh a n g sh e a v yi n t h e a i r . "
* An obituaryof painterMax
Chapmanby DavidBuckmanin
the lndependent(30 November
1999)states(incorrectly)
that
OswellBlakeston"publishedthe
first poems by Lawrence
Durrell"in Proems(1938).The
articlealsotouchesuponwriter
M.P. Shiel and the aristocracy
of the islandkingdomof
Redonda.
perceivedhistorical
event,has
beenpromptedby whatthis
bookdid to my head.'
* There are two referencesto
LD in PassionateNomad: The
Life of Freya Starkby Jane
FletcherGeniesse(NY:
RandomHouse,1999).
* ln Ruth Reichl'sTenderat the
Bone: Growing Up at the Table
(NY:RandomHouse,'1998,
" ln For the Loveof Books:115
CelebratedWriterson the
hardback;NY: BroadwayBooks,
Books TheyLove Mostby
1999,paperback),
the author,
RonaldB. Shwartz
who is the restaurantcriticof
(GrosseVPutnam
the New York Times,relates
[hardcover],
March1999;Berkley
beingservedChineseolives,
p.72),
"large,
May
2000,
smootholives,unlike
[paperback],
RitaDovejudgeslhe
any I had seen,"at a small
AlexandriaQuartet"one of the
lunch."l bit into one. 'Lawrence
majorliteraryaccomplishments Durrell,'I said,wonderingif I
was pronouncing
the name
of this century."She was
right,'saidthat oliveshad a taste
affectedfirst by "its renderingof
the city,Alexandria,
as old as coldwater.'I rolledthe
in such
complexitythat you stillcannot
mustypit aroundin my mouth,
graspit. . . . When you finish.. .
thinkingthat if I couldcome up
you stilldon't knowAlexandria,
with just one descriptionas
good I couldcall myselfa
and yet you are on intimate
terms."
writer"(281,1999ed.).
Dove is alsoimpressedby the
very
MARGINALIA
Quartet'sstructure--"it's
Einsteinian."
She explainsthat it
* Thosewho havefallenin love
"present[s]
one person'sview so
thoroughly
that you are
with Egyptwilldelightin Valley
convincedof it, and then Durrell of the GoldenMummiesby Zahi
you in the next
un-convinces
Hawass(NY:Abrams,2000).
part.And that'ssucha
Filledwith marvelous
photographs,
wrenchingof the space-time
the book
continuumthat yourconceptsof
describes
the tombsfounda
realityand perception
are
coupleof yearsago at
shattered.
When I lookbackon
Bahariya,not far from the Giza
my own work,I thinkthat my
monuments.
Theserichly
attemptsto get at another
tombsare the resting
appointed
placeof very successful
versionof history,another
versionof a well-known
and
notthoseof royalty
merchants,
acceptedor stereotypically
as the lavishtombsdiscovered
16
in the pasthave been.
* Naturalistsamong us will want
to investigatePaul Sterry's
CompleteMediterranean
Wildlife(frafalgar Square,
$27.50paperback).lt shouldbe
interesting
to comparethis
volumewith lhe NaturalHistory
(1982)by
of the Mediterranean
TegwynHarris.
* For thoseDurrellians
whose
palateshave come lo crave
Mediterranean
cuisine,Ollye
Oil: The Elixirof Life, with 42
Recrpesby MyrsiniLambraki
(Athens:Nereus,March1999,
78pp) will be a welcomebook.
Abouthalfof it explainsthe
history,production,and
assessment
of oliveoil, recipes
makeup the remainder.
WITH GRATITUDE
For providingmaterialfor this
numberof the newsletter,we
wishto thankthe following:
CatherineAldington,Peter
Baldwin,John Bodley,Roger
Bowen,Jane Brodsky
Fitzpatrick,Brewster
Chamberlin,
R.W. Challoner,
AlanW. Friedman,LawrenceB.
Gamache,NormanGates,
SheilaHarvey,Earl Ingersoll,
Panos Karagiorgos,
Jane
Keller,Anna Lillios,Paul
Lorenz,NoraNadjarian,
Hilary
Whitton Paipeti,CarolPeirce,
DavidRadavich,David
Roessel,Avi Sharon,Jack
Stewart,H.R.Stoneback,
and
AnneZahlan.
h}A/Ahh