The prison books of Elli Pappa
he Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA) will present a different kind of book at the Benaki Museum (17 Vas. Sofias & 1 Koubari, tel 210.367.1000) on Friday, December 1. The presentation will unveil a series of books that Elli Pappa wrote, illustrated and bound during the 13 years she spent in prison during the 1950s. The books were intended for her son, who at the time was growing up with his aunt, author Dido Sotiriou. Pappa’s companion, Nikos Beloyiannis, a communist leader, was executed in 1952. For Pappa, her prison activities became a form of cultural resistance while living in barbaric conditions. The event At the Benaki Museum next week, Pappa herself, author Alki Zei and journalist Stelios Kouloglou will talk about Pappa’s gesture of love, expressed through words and colors at a time when the author was deprived of her companion, her son and her freedom. Ten of the prison books have been published with the support of Kaleidoskopio editions. Four years ago, Pappa entrusted her entire archive to ELIA, adding more than 60 files to the study of postwar Greek history.
