Eleni sikelianos is the author of seven previous books of poetry, including the loving detail of the living and the dead, and the california poem. Eleni sikelianos, a native of california, is the author of a hybrid memoir, a long ecopoem, and other books of poetry, the most recent being body clock. The return to writing on the part of the mother and the acquisition of speech on. Meet ottie lee henshaw, a beauty in smalltown indiana who travels across the countryside to witness a dark and fearful celebration. She inserts excerpts of such books of california lore as edward f. Kudos to coffee house press for turning out a beautifully designed and produced book that is visually elegant and wonderful to hold. Books by eleni sikelianos author of the california poem. She is the author of various poetry collections and her work has appeared in many magazines and journals. Sikelianos teaches in the creative writing program at the university of denver. Ive been reading and rereading this compelling book for the past two weeks.
Largehearted boy in make yourself happy, eleni sikelianos evinces a neuropsychological state counter to the miswrought biology that has haunted the occident since the dawn of roman times. John cayleys collection of essays, gr ammalepsy, was recently published by bloomsbury academic. Eleni sikelianos eleni sikelianos biography poem hunter. Eleni sikelianos 531 you have to come essplainy cuz dey nebber unnerston os. Interview with eleni sikelianos the museum of americana. Sikelianoss work has been widely anthologized, in two norton anthologies postmodern american poetry and american hybrid as well as tin house s. She is the greatgranddaughter of greek poet angelos sikelianos and the niece of anne waldman. These poems open the neurology to its whole participation in the. Eleni sikelianos s most popular book is the california poem. Haunted by the 20th centurys dismal record of global species extinction and an uncertain worldhistorical future ahead, this book uncovers new forms of resistance to apathy and despair through a return to the. The poems throughout do play around with normal narrative thrust and sequencing, and there are syntactical structures that require a second look, and a slower look. Sikelianos has been the happy recipient of various awards for her poetry, nonfiction, and translations, including an nea, a nyfa, and the national poetry series. Eleni sikelianos is the author of six books of poetry, most recently the loving detail of the living and the dead, as well as a hybrid memoir, the book of jon.
Against the slope of social speech, starring eleni sikelianos, produced by anne waldman and ed bowes, directed by ed bowes, 2007. Jon, a multitalented, eccentric visionary, emerges as a brilliant, charming, irresponsible. The notion of reading the book of nature as a math or science book. Laird hunt and eleni sikelianos will speak about and sign their new books, the evening road and make yourself happy, on thursday, february 9th at 7. Yes, this book will make you happy it will also make you invigorated, curious, thoughtful, and astonished. Make yourself happy by eleni sikelianos 9781566894593. Appearing on crosscultural poetics, hosted by leonard schwartz, october 22, 2006. The book of jon by eleni sikelianos, paperback barnes.
You animal machine the golden greek coffee house press. Make yourself happy eleni sikelianos coffee house press 2017 isbn. The book of jon eleni sikelianos city lights books. Eleni sikelianos, a native of california, is the author of two hybrid memoirs the book of jon and you animal machine and eight books of poetry, most recently make yourself happy. Buy make yourself happy by eleni sikelianos 9781566894593 from boomerang books, australias online independent bookstore. The snow falls picks itself up dusts itself offa sparrow flying like a leaf back up to its treethe future does a backbend toward you its.
This week in the pen poetry series, pen america features two poems by eleni sikelianos. A booklength poem that grapples with the global and the globalized, bringing urgently needed visionary reflection to our tumultuous world. Join facebook to connect with eleni sikelianos and others you may know. Have a drink in the ancient roman light that flares on the strange american faces on the airport train. The book of jon is a saga of the rise and fall of family linesa tale marked by bohemia, greek poets, intellectuals. Eleni sikelianos has 24 books on goodreads with 1528 ratings. Jacket 23 eleni sikelianos from the california poem. Segue series reading at the bowery poetry club, february. Change the world by eleni sikelianos poetry foundation.
This led me to read eleni sikelianos more recent collection of poems, body clock 2008, which looks more like a laboratory notebook rather than a formal book of poetry. Sikelianos directs the creative writing program at the university of denver. Nightboat editions has just released what i knew by eleni sikelianos, professor of literary arts. She has been the happy recipient of various awards for her poetry, nonfiction, and translations, including an. Sikelianos teaches in and directs the creative writing program at the university of denver. Farnoux editors bsa modern greek and byzantine studies, 2018.
Make yourself happy is the fifth book of poetry by eleni sikelianos issued since 2001 by the fine coffee house press, just north of me in minneapolis. Ricketts and john steinbecks the log from the sea of cortez and decembers child. Buy the book of jon by eleni sikelianos online at alibris. Eleni sikelianos, author of body clock and the california poem the kingdom and after greets us with a mysterious and worldly look inside fernandes personal timeline her characters are sentimental, melancholic at times, and ask us to slow down, to absorb into shades of yellow and green, and to befriend unsolicited ghosts. Historystree early greece fence 10th anniversary reading chicago feb. The title of eleni sikelianoss latest collection of poetry, make yourself happy, is a timely imperative for the new dark ages in which we find ourselves. Eleni sikelianos is the author of, most recently, the california poem coffee house press and the book of jon nonfiction memoir, city lights. Well, ive said this elsewhere, but i do tend to think in terms. Eleni sikelianos is the winner of the 2002 national poetry series, a recipient of an nea fellowship, two gertrude stein awards, and the james d. Perhaps, as sikelianos suggests, it is by interacting with, rather than acting upon, that we might manage to move forward, learn some grammar get on a donkey and ride. She is currently on the faculty of the naropa institute. Eleni sikelianos was born and raised in california and earned her mfa from the naropa institute. Eleni sikelianos is the author of six books of poetry, most recently the loving detail of the living and the dead and the california poem, which was a barnes. Reviewed by brad flis i see the lines of our ancestors laid out in filaments looping here and there, bifurcating, disappearing.
This touching memoir of her late father, jon sikelianos, by poet and eldest child eleni sikelianos, is revelatory both a pursuit of him as father and. It is full with hand drawings, scratches, graphs, fragments of hybrid imagery and invented creatures and body parts. She currently lives in colorado, and teaches at the university of denver. That was one of the questions posed to the famed poet eleni sikelianos, a thirdgeneration greekamerican writer whose ancestry includes nobelnominated greek poet angelos sikelianos on her fathers side and burlesque dancer and rembekiko player on her mothers side. As of late 2003, sikelianos makes her home in colorado, where she teaches at naropa and denver universities. The book of jon is a poem in the form of a memoir, a tragedy in the form of gradual revelation, a tale in the form of a nightmare from which you are not allowed to. Eleni sikelianos, body clock coffeehouse press, 2008, 149 pp. Make yourself happy is bold and observant, an arresting volume on happiness. She is currently at work on a hybrid family history, part of which will be published next fall as the book of jon city lights. The lefevresikelianoswaldman tree and the imaginative.
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