Why Read? The Role of Writers & Books in the 21st Century
Under the auspices of the Hellenic Parliament and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports and in the framework of Athens 2018 World Book Capital City of Athens with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation as the major donor
A Hellenic Authors’ Society International Symposium
Why Read? The Role of Writers & Books in the 21st Century
Thursday & Friday, October 18 & 19, 2018, in Greek & English, free admission
Tritsis Amphitheater, Cultural Center of the City of Athens (50 Academias Street)
“Why Read: The Role of Writers & Books in the 21st Century” is the overall theme of a symposium being held at the Cultural Center of the City of Athens on October 18 and 19 2018. Why & how do we read? Why write? Why translate? Why publish? Aspects of these questions are addressed by distinguished Greek and other authors, critics, translators, and scholars who participate in this international symposium being organized by the Hellenic Authors' Society, in cooperation with the Institute for Comparative Literature & Society at Columbia University and the Department of English Language & Literature of the School of Philosophy at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, in the context of UNESCO’s designation of Athens as World Book Capital. Four panels (11:00 to 13:30 and 16:00 to 18:30 on both Thursday and Friday) and a round table, (19:00 to 21:00 on Friday) are being held at the Antonis Tritsis Amphitheater of the Cultural Center of the City of Athens.
What is the future of writing? How do relations between writers, books & readers, language & translation evolve? Do writers have common motives in all periods? Who are the future readers? How does love for or enmity toward reading emerge? How are orality, writing, and electronic speech distributed? How do literature & writing sail in an ocean of orality? How do they respond to material conditions of production & circulation, to social & political environments, to international cultural divisions of labor? How are relations shaped between “minor” and “major” languages, in terms of numbers, in multi-lingual, mono-lingual & a-lingual conditions? What is the place of the Greek language? How do critics & criticism become involved? Is there literature without translation?
The symposium is presented in four panels and a round table.
Thursday, October 18, 2018
GREETINGS
WRITERS & READERS
11:00 - 13:30 Panel 1
(15 min break at 12:30)
Discussants (in alphabetical order)
Stathis Gourgouris
Christopher Merrill
Fotini Tsalikoglou
Anastassis Vistonitis
Chair Erifili Maroniti
LANGUAGE & TRANSLATION
Thursday, October 18, 2018
16:00 - 18:30 Panel 2
(15 min break at 17:30)
Discussants (in alphabetical order)
George-Icaros Babassakis
Christoforos Charalambakis
Anastasia Papakonstantinou
A.E. Stallings
Chair Costas Athanasiou
Friday, October 19, 2018
WRITERS & BOOKS
11:00 - 13:30 Panel 3
(15 min break at 12:30)
Discussants (in alphabetical order)
Philip Dracodaidis
Tasos Goudelis
Ioannis Trohopoulos
Amanda Michalopoulou
Chair Angeliki Stratigopoulou
THE FUTURE OF WRITING
Friday, October 19, 2018
16:00 - 18:30 Panel 4
(15 min break at 17:30)
Discussants (in alphabetical order)
Christopher Bakken
Rhea Galanaki
Michalis Modinos
Yorgis Yatromanolakis
Chair Liana Sakelliou
WHY READ?
Friday, October 19, 2018
19:00 - 21:00 Round table
Discussants (in alphabetical order)
Titos Patrikios
Jina Politi
Thanassis Valtinos
Vassilis Vassilikos
& discussants from previous panels
Chair Yiorgos Chouliaras
Athens World Book Capital 2018 is made possible thanks to its donors and contributors. Major Donor is Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Gold Donors are John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and Core SA. Donors are Onassis Foundation, Welfare Foundation for Social & Cultural Affairs, Laskaridis Foundation and Greek Collecting Society for Literary Works (OSDEL). Valuable contributors are Aegean Airlines, Athens International Airport, and Urban Rail Transport SA (STASY).
Long-term supporters of the Hellenic Authors’ Society include the Hellenic Parliament, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports, the City of Athens and its Organization for Culture, Sports & Youth (OPANDA), the Greek Collecting Society for Literary Works (OSDEL), and the Kostas & Eleni Ourani Foundation of the Academy of Athens, while special appreciation is being extended to Hotel Kimon, public relations company ArtsPr, and Indigo Graphics.
photo © Roman Robroek (https://romanrobroek.com), used with permission in connection with
the Hellenic Authors’ Society symposium on “Why Read? The Role of Writers & Books in the 21st Century”