Lectures and new releases this week
Tonight’s talk at the French Institute will appeal to translators, students of translation and anyone else interested in multilingualism. Despina Taglaki, head of the Greek branch of the European Commission’s Multilingualism-Translation Directorate, will speak on multilingualism in Europe and the art of translation in EU institutions. French Institute auditorium, 31 Sina, 7.30 p.m. Admission is free. The talk will be in Greek. A taste of crime Get a taste of Greek skullduggery this evening when Kastaniotis publishers launch «Ellinika Englimata: Deka Astynomikes Stories» (Greek Crime: Ten Detective Stories, edited by Antaios Chrysostomidis). Talented Greek writers Petros Markaris, Andreas Apostolidis, Dimitris Mamaloukas, Athina Kakouri, Petros Martinidis, Giorgos Bramos, Titiana Danella, Costas Kyriakopoulos, Marlena Politopoulou and Filippos Filippou examine crimes old and new, real and imagined, in settings ranging from Istanbul to Amsterdam and from high society to a rubbish dump. Italian Cultural Institute, 47 Patission, 8 p.m., tel 210.524.2646. Lecture «The Turkish pogrom of 1955, the destruction of the Greek community of Istanbul and Greek-Turkish relations» is the subject of a lecture by historian Speros Vryonis on May 14 at the Athens Concert Hall. A distinguished academic, Vryonis is the author of numerous works on Byzantium, Greeks in medieval Asia Minor, Turkey and Islam. His lecture is part of the Megaron Plus series. The lecture starts at 7 p.m. Admission is by priority coupon, issued from 6 p.m. or 30 minutes earlier if there is great demand. Athens Concert Hall, 1 Kokkali & Vas. Sofias. Diaspora «Kinigontas to oneiro» (Chasing the Dream) is the title of a book by journalist Roula Kotseta, due out from Alektryon publications this month. The book, which will be published in Greek and English, explores the history of the Greeks of New York from 1890 to 1995. The launch will be held at the Foundation of the Hellenic World on May 29 at 8 p.m. Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, PASOK deputy Yiannis Dimaras, American Research Institute President Antonis Livanis and ND deputy Sofia Voultepsi are among the many speakers who will address the launch on May 29. Foundation of the Hellenic World, 254 Pireos, tel 212.254.000, 8 p.m. Vassilis Vassilikos Ellinika Grammata have brought out two new titles in their series by Vassilis Vassilikos, a best-selling writer at home and one of Greece’s best-known authors abroad. In «290 Prosopa» (290 Personalities), he tells stories about some of the remarkable people he has met, from Marguerite Duras and Olaf Palme to Pablo Picasso and Jean-Paul Sartre. Forty years after the colonels’ junta, «Poste Restante 1967-74» retells a crucial chapter in the literature of exile, with the writer in the role of both sender and recipient. Both books will be launched at Ianos bookstore tomorrow at 8 p.m. Kostas Kalfopoulos, Theodoros Pangalos and Alexis Stamatis will introduce the books, while Gina Alimnou-Vardinoyianni will read extracts. Ianos, 24 Stadiou, tel 210.321.7929.
