Greek actress Aliki Vougiouklaki has been immortalised by being on the cover of the latest novel by author Ali Smith. Not only has Smith chosen the actress for the cover of her new novel Artful, but the main characters journey in the novel, weaves itself into the life of Aliki Vougiouklaki. Vougiouklaki’s’ life plays a crucial role in the novel. The narrator of Artful begins to learn Greek, to find out more about Ms. Vougiouklaki, the actress.
Adapted from four lectures given by Ali Smith at Oxford University, Artful is a tidal wave of ideas in four thematically organised bursts of thought: ‘On Time’, ‘On Form’, ‘On Edge’ and ‘On Offer and On Reflection’.
Refusing to be tied down to either fiction or the essay form, Artful is narrated by a character who is haunted – literally – by a former lover, the writer of a series of lectures about art and literature. Full of both the poignancy and humour of fiction and all the sideways insights and jaunty angles you would expect from Ali Smith’s criticism, it explores form, style, life, love, death, mortality, immortality and what art and writing can mean.
Part fiction, part essay, Artful is a revelation of what writing can do and a reaffirmation of Ali Smith’s unmatched literary powers.
Aliki Vougiouklaki is considered as one of the most popular and successful actresses of Greek cinema. Born in the Athens prefecture of Marousi, she appeared in 42 movies, mostly musicals, and in a wide variety of television programs, theatre and stage productions. In the ’60s she collaborated with Dimitris Papamichail in a number of popular movies. The popular celebrity couple married in the ’60s, but divorced in 1975. She received the prize for lead woman’s role at the inaugural Greek Cinema Festival in Thessaloniki in 1960 for her starring role in the movie Mantalena. She died on July 23 1996.