The President's Column
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The International Lawrence Durrell Society Herald Number 34 December 15, 2015 Pamela J. Francis, Editor Susan S. MacNiven, Founding Editor One reason that the and/or the Greek world he loved The President’s Modern Myth and Legend so fully; to review of how oth- theme is particularly pertinent ers have interpreted Durrell’s Column this year is that it ties in so well life and work. As a linguist, my with our own major confer- own work has always been on Linda Rashidi, ence, OMG XIX: Threading the the periphery of scholarly ex- President, ILDS Labyrinth: Durrell, Greece, and amination of Durrell, and I have World War II, which takes place especially enjoyed past papers Elected May 2014 in Rethymnon, Crete, 26-30 that have looked at Durrell June 2016. Paper proposals for from unusual perspectives. So this conference are due 11 Jan- reach out to anyone you know uary 2016. For more details on who might bring to OMG XIX a the theme and how to submit of- perspective from the business Late autumn is upon us, ferings, visit our website: http:// community, artistic community, and with it the season of ab- lawrencedurrell.org/wp_durrell/ politics, religion, history—or just stracts and paper proposals. omg-xix/. plain folks outside of academia The International Lawrence Dur- that can add insight into Dur- rell Society is once again solicit- Durrell was a many- rell, related authors, or travel- ing those proposals from YOU! faceted person with diverse lers in the Greek world. How By the time this reaches you, interests and a plethora of ideas many ways can the Labyrinth be the deadline will have passed that he translated and transmit- Threaded? for submission of abstracts for ted to the rest of us through the Durrell panel(s) at the Lou- not only literature but also art, Beyond the paper ses- isville Conference on Literature music, and a voluminous corre- sions, Anna Lillios, Conference and Culture Since 1900, but spondence, to name just a few Organizer, and her Committee James Clawson has developed of his modes of expression. As are in the process of finalizing a great theme this year: Modern such, the Conference Organiz- an amazing array of events Myth and Legend. If you have ing Committee and Executive for OMG XIX: tours on WWII never attended this mega-con- Board are making a big push to Resistance activity, visits to ference, you might want to con- reach out to folks from a variety ancient sites, cultural perfor- sider doing so February 18-20 of fields and with a variety of mances, museums, panels and in Louisville, Kentucky. As usu- interests. There will, of course, keynote speakers (including al, the ILDS will not only host a be the usual paper sessions biographers of and authors on panel or two, but will meet for with topics ranging, hopefully both Durrell and Patrick Leigh camaraderie, food and drink, (proposals are just beginning Fermor, experts on the Cretan and stimulating discussion. The to pour in), from critique of Dur- Resistance and the famous Executive Board meets at this rell’s work; to discussion of kidnapping of General Kreipe), time also, and Board members Durrell and his writing in rela- and last but not least, food and profit from interaction with other tion to others whose work and drink in typical Greek taverns. ILDS members (or just lovers of life intersected with his own; to (cont’d next page) Durrell) as we plan and plot. artistic interpretation of Durrell ILDS Herald p. 2 President’s Column, fiction, one of my dog-earred cont’d. copies. A few days later, he plopped down on With this wealth of offer- ings, we would also like to ex- tend an invitation to people who may not have a presentation to propose, and have perhaps never attended an academic conference, but would like to join us in celebrating, discuss- ing, experiencing, and exploring Crete, the WWII Resistance, Greek culture, and/or Durrell and his fellow Greek-loving contemporaries. The Interna- tional Lawrence Durrell Society would not be Durrellian without the interest and input of a vari- ety of people from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of interests. And in this vein, OMG XIX will be welcoming the special participation of the Patrick Leigh Fermor Society, my stonewall and we spent the newly-formed in 2014. You can next two hours pondering “what access their website at www. happened.” Having just studied patrickleighfermorsociety.org. Carl Jung, my student neighbor Larry and Paddy had an endur- was particularly intrigued by the ing friendship that included, philosophical and psychological naturally, some marvelous cor- questions that Durrell raises. I respondence. have discovered over the years of teaching this ‘minor’ work of Since the theme of Durrell how accessible it is to OMG XIX is “Threading the almost anyone. Good storytell- Labyrinth,” I would be remiss if ing never grows old. I didn’t say a word about one of Durrell’s most readily-readable books: The Dark Labyrinth, or originally Cefalu. I have just fin- ished re-reading this novel; part The Dark Labyrinth myth, part adventure tale, part through the years, magical realism, Durrell is at his including the audio best as storyteller. In my small version (middle top), college town, I live surrounded and the electronic edition by undergraduate students. This (second from top, right past summer, I passed on to column) one, an environmental science major who reads mostly science ILDS Herald p. 3 ILDS Herald p. 4 no longer hanging around in This issue promises many Letter from your the caves there. I drove through delights. By an odd sort of kis- mountain villages and saw met, both Grove Koger (briefly) editor— eerie and heartbreaking com- and Peter Baldwin (at length) Pamela J. Francis, editor memorations of Nazi massacres deal with a topic most Durrell (Anna Lillios is organizing a readers know little about; that is, I came to Crete the same tour of WWII Resistance activ- Durrell’s paintings. I was abso- way I came to Alexandria and ity; please see p. 17 for photos lutely thrilled to see these items, Provence—through literature. of some possible stops on this and I hope the reproductions The dear mentor who had intro- tour), and for one blissful hour, here can do justice to Durrell’s duced me to Lawrence Durrell followed the tinkling of bells up artistic pursuits. had also introduced me to Nikos a steep hillside covered with Kazantzakis. And just as I imag- grazing goats. And in an effort Check out Anne Zahlan’s ined the mysterious streets of a to work off some great local yo- selections from Heralds past, cosmopolitan city constructed gurt and cheese, I hiked down and Linda Rashidi reflects on a from a mud made of the world’s the Samaria Gorge…and then recent conference and its suc- great religions, ex-patriates of just kept on walking right into cesses, a valuable conversa- the world’s great nations, and the Libyan Sea, where my spirit tion as we prepare for our own refugees from the world’s great (and my feet!) were revived by meeting of the minds. And as al- traumas, so I came to imagine an underwater spring of ice cold ways, please send me any info the dusty roads of villages that water. My day drives included you think would be appropriate dotted the hillsides of a fiercely trips to monasteries, and my for the Herald! I can be reached xenophobic and angrily inde- evenings included celebrating at [email protected]. pendent island, an outpost of Greece’s EuroCup win with sev- Please let me hear from you; in history paradoxically located eral hundred ecstatic locals in a the meantime, I wish you all the on the world’s busiest maritime seaside café in Mirtos. happiest of holiday seasons! highway. I am thrilled that next sum- Unlike the mysterious streets mer’s On Miracle Ground XIX of Alexandria, which, I read, his- will be held in Crete, and this is- tory has cleared of its miasma sue of the Herald is intended to of multi-culturalism, or the vil- get you excited too! Anna Lilios, lages of Provence, now overrun tireless organizer, has provided by tourists, I’ve actually wan- an excellent bibliography of dered the dusty roads of Crete. texts related to the Cretan Re- Okay, some of the “roads” were sistance and Allied participa- highways, and I wandered tion in World War II. We’ve also about in a sporty little Fiat, but I included a listing of hotels and spent a week in Crete in 2004, rooms available in the area; and it was one of the most ex- Anna has noted that conferees citing, beautiful, and thoughtful may be better off searching on weeks of my life. I’ve published Expedia or other travel sites for on Kazantzakis, and a trip to lodging appropriate to their own The caves at Matala: alas, his village and the Kazantzakis situations. Many of the hotels no Romans--or hippies; Museum stands out as the most are small and cannot reserve a sunburnt selfie; a bust gratifying day of the trip. How- large blocks of rooms, while oth- of Kazantzakis in the ever, for plain fun, Matala takes ers are not suitable for families. museum at Myrtia. the prize, though I was disap- This list, however, should get pointed to find that hippies were you started! ILDS Herald p. 5 helping us plan the confer- when Leigh Fermor and W. ence. Stanley Moss kidnapped On the Nazi general of Crete, One of the themes of Heinrich Kreipe, on April 26, Miracle Ground the conference centers on 1944, and transported him XIX British writers and Cretan by foot over the mountains freedom-fighters who re- of Crete and by British mo- sisted the Nazis in Crete dur- will convene in Rethymnon tor launch across the Aegean ing World War II.