On 2 April I had the privilege to take part in Sydney’s Greek Australian Writers’ Festival. The Festival is presented by the Greek Festival of Sydney (this year celebrating its 41st anniversary) and the University of Technology Sydney, under the direction of academic Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos, who many readers will remember from her previous career with SBS.
The Festival brought together a wide range of authors, mostly of Greek birth or heritage, others inspired to create through writing or photography by connections to Greece and its culture. The program grouped these authors around 7 sessions, led by interesting facilitators, across the 8 hour Festival. A veritable feast for the mind.
A key aspect of the Festival was a celebration of the works of Charmain Clift and her part in the beautiful Greek Island of Hydra’s cultural exposure to writers and artists in the 1950s. This period saw Charmain, her husband writer George Johnston and family leave Australia and live in Greece – on Hydra as well as Kalymnos. Their experience of Greece inspired their creative impulses – with Charmain’s Mermaid’s Singing relating life on Kalymnos to English readers. It was amazing to listen to authors Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalziell discuss with author David Hill their account of this period on Hydra, entitled Half the Perfect World. Another session saw the biographer of Charmain – Nadia Wheatley – in conversation with Australia’s Ambassador to Greece Arthur Spyrou and translator Fotini Pipi, both brought to Festival live from Greece over the internet. One of the exciting announcements was the availability of Charmain Clift’s Mermaid’s Singing in Greek (Το Τραγούδι της Γοργόνας), translated by Ms Pipi, with the translation of Charmain’s Peel me a Lotus expected in July.
One of the highlights of the festival was the panel discussion session entitled “Are We ‘White’ Yet? Lets Talk Diversity”. This brought together Dr Vatsikopoulos, academic and writer Dr Phil Kafcaloudes, historian Associate Professor Nicholas Doumanis, journalist Paul Farrell, well-known actor Mary Coustas and journalist Anna Patty in a robust discussion exploring the question of whether Greek-Australians are now considered “white” within Australia’s social fabric. Readers will soon be able to listen to this discussion as part of ABC Radio National’s Big Ideas program, with the rest of the Festival available soon as podcasts on SBS Radio.
A number of other interesting sessions saw various fiction writers explain their works and how Hellenic experience inspired them in their different ways. We heard Peter Polites discuss his novel – God forgets about the Poor – drawing on his relationship with his Greek mother in Sydney, Susan Johnson’s tale – Aphrodites Breath – of her journey with her mother to Kythera, Kate Forsyth’s The Crimson Thread which was inspired by her family connection to the battle of Crete and Gail Jones’ work – Salonika Burning – set in Thessaloniki during the First World War and the terrible fire that engulfed the city, drawing on the writings of three Australian and one British service personnel who were there. These talks were led by expert facilitators, Anna Patty and Dr Kafcaloudes.
The Festival also encompassed pictorial works inspired by Hellenic themes. Dr Kafcaloudes introduced Effy Alexakis and Dr Tony Maniaty, the former having recently released her Forty Photos – A Year at a Time and latter discussing his forthcoming photographic study of modern Athenians, entitled simply The New Athenians. The power of Effy’s black and white images met Tony’s dazzling colour images, both revealing the power of visual storytelling. Many readers will know Effy from her other publication, with her partner Leonard Janizewski, entitled In their own Image, the story of Greek cafes in Australia.
It was an honour for me to join Associate Professor Nick Doumanis in our session facilitated by Dr Maniaty on different ways of telling the history of Greece and the Greeks. Nick is the author of many influential historical works on Greece and the Greeks, one of the most inspiring for me being his Before The Nation on the life of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire prior to the Catastrophe. He discussed his forthcoming work – The Greeks in the 20th and early 21st century, a Global Perspective – the final in a series on Greek history published by Edinburgh University Press. His discussion ranged over the story of the Greek diaspora and its relationship to Greece and their various new homelands, as well as the resilience of Greek democracy despite the convulsions and stresses both in the past and more recently.
My discussion centred on the power of photography to bring to life the experience of Australians in Greece in times of war, illustrated by a presentation of some of the key photographs of Greece held in Australian archives, such as those of Albert Savage, Evelyn Hutt, Syd Grant and Alfred Huggins. Not only was I stimulated by the informed questioning of Dr Maniaty, himself a professional photographer who has documented the horror of war, but also by the opportunity to interact with many members of the audience with personal family connections to either the Gallipoli or Greek Campaigns, including former ABC & SBS producer Geoff Parish and journalist Stephen Hutcheon. I ended my session with an appeal for those in the audience and beyond with significant family archival records to consider donating them to public institutions for their preservation, such as the State Library of NSW. I stressed that my research has only been enabled by the extensive archival collections of such institutions.
The Festival was supported by Sydney’s Bilingual Bookshop with a well-stocked stall offering not only books by the authors who were taking part in the Festival but publications drawn from their wide selection of books in both the Greek and Australian language. Thankfully Eleni and Katerina appear to have done a good trade. For all of us involved in writing and publications, it is so important that we give support to our booksellers and ensure their survival.
I might add that the philhellenic theme of this year’s Festival will be reflected in the Melbourne-based Greek Australian Cultural League’s forthcoming event and publication, which will include many Greek and Australian writers on the contribution of Australian philhellenes to the history and culture of Greece.
The Greek Australian Writers Festival is a key part of the annual Greek Festival of Sydney, an initiative of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW. This year the Festival takes place from February to May and encompasses many events, from book launches (in both the Greek and English languages), musical concerts, cinema screenings, theatrical performances and exhibitions – to name just a few. Two Greek language books being launched as part of the Festival are Nicholas Malaxos’ My Father’s Daughter and Juliana Charpanditou’s Greek language history of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (on 30 April). The program also includes the prestigious Dionysios Solomos Awards in recognition of the highest ranking Greek language (both Modern and Classical) students in NSW, presented in partnership with the University of Sydney.
I would like to congratulate both Harry Danalis (President of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW) and Ms Nia Karteris (Festival Chair, Greek Festival of Sydney) for their support of the Writers’ Festival. It is fantastic see Greek communities incorporating the art of writing and photography within the wider celebration of Hellenic culture in Australia.
Most importantly I would also like to congratulate Festival Director Dr Helen Vatsikipoulos for putting together such an interesting and diverse program. It was very well organized and publicized, encompassing more established as well as emerging authors, covering fiction and non-fiction, writing and pictorial publications. It brought together Hellenes and Philhellenes to discuss their works, all inspired by the Hellenic Australian connection. The Festival also brought together the Greek community and academia, as well as media partners such as the ABC and SBS as well as the Greek Australian print media. The communication of the sessions via ABC and SBS Radio was inspired, an innovation that other similar festivals would do well to emulate. A particular highlight for me was the standard of session chairs that were able to bring out the best from presenters and panelists for the benefit of participants. This is Helen’s second Festival as Director and we look forward to her directing many more.
I encourage readers to take the plunge, travel to Sydney and experience this well organized and informative program, either for other sessions in this year’s program or subsequent years. You won’t regret it.
I believe that there is much to learn from this recent Writers’ Festival in Sydney. I hope that Greek communities throughout Australia take a look at the program, connect with its organizers and draw on some of the many positive aspects of the Festival. We are all never too old learn and improve our own efforts by learning from others.
Jim Claven is a trained historian, freelance writer and published author who has been researching the Hellenic link to Australia’s Anzac tradition. His most recent publications include Grecian Adventure & Lemnos and Gallipoli Revealed. All the books mentioned in this article are available via Sydney’s Bilingual Bookshop (contact Katerina on 0410324328). Jim can be contacted via email – jimclaven@yahoo.com.au