Ithaca proves to be an effective advocate for Greek books abroad
Ithaca, the monthly magazine produced by the National Book Center, had a successful makeover last year. A tighter editorial hand, briefer articles and a more enticing layout make it an effective advocate for Greek books abroad. The December 2002 issue is representative of the new style, starting with the intriguing black-and-white photograph on the cover. Among the latest offerings are Makis Panorios’s examination of Greek fantasy literature: «Fantasy from the Classical Greeks to Today.» In the regular «Personalities» feature, Elisabet Kotzia performs the invaluable task of presenting writers, this time the life and work of novelist Pantelis Prevelakis. Ilias Maglinis continues Ithaca’s series of interviews with contemporary Greek writers. Speaking to award-winning novelist and short-story writer Ioanna Karystiani, whose work has won popular and critical acclaim, Maglinis gets her talking about her how she started writing and her preoccupations as an author of fiction. Also of interest is Maglinis’s presentation of nine new voices in fiction, where he introduces promising young writers who have come on the scene in the past five years – and evaluates their work. In «Cities of the World,» where writers evoke a favorite city, Aris Marangopoulos lauds «Dear Dirty Dublin,» which he first visited, he says, «as a pilgrim,» following in the footsteps of James Joyce’s character, Leopold Bloom. New titles in fiction, poetry, politics and children’s literature are presented in the recent «Publications» section, and Aglaia Kremezi reviews two new cookbooks in «The Mediterranean Melting Pot: Cuisines Defined by Geography, Ethnicity and Religion.»
