10-12 OCTOBER 2025
Body and memory
11:30
DISCUSSION
with Dimitra Louka and Avgi Lilli
DESCRIPTION
In her books, author Dimitra Louka often becomes a connoisseur of the art of folk song, folk traditions and beliefs of her homeland, Epirus, as well as myths from ancient Greek and world tradition. These primary materials create a symbolic framework of relationships within which her heroes move and the stories of her short stories unfold in a way that constantly produces new meanings.
In the faces of many of her heroines, the role, image and fate that patriarchy reserves for women are confirmed in order to emphasize the need for female self-awareness and emancipation. However, women are also depicted who subvert the role assigned to them by society by promoting autonomy, responsibility for their lives and self-determination of the body.
Dimitra Louka's love for the short form is confirmed by the fact that she has published three collections of short stories to date. The economy, intensity and density of language and content, as well as the concept of climax are some of the characteristics of the genre that fascinate her.
The author will discuss all of the above in an open discussion with Avgi Lilli.
BRIEF CV
Dimitra Louka was born in Preveza. She is a philologist. She lives and works in Athens. She has published the short story collections Knot the Knot (Kichli 2019), Muta and Other Stories (Kichli 2021) and Persephone in the Wolf's Mouth (Kichli 2024). For the collection Knot the Knot she was awarded the Newcomer Prose Writer award of the online magazine O Anagnostis. This collection was nominated for the Meni Koumantarea Award of the Writers' Association, while the collections Muta and Other Stories and Persephone in the Wolf's Mouth were nominated for the Short Story Award of the magazine O Anagnostis. Her short stories have been included in collective works and have been published in print and online magazines. They have been translated into French and Hebrew.
Avgi Lilli writes poetry and short stories. She published the poetry collections Draft Notes on a Lifeboat (Armida, Nicosia 2011), The Massacre of the Century (Thrace 2018) and At the End of a Tail (Thrace 2021), as well as the short story collection Rice Paper and Other Short Stories (River 2023: Map Magazine Prose Award). He has anthologized and translated from Bulgarian the poetry of Georgi Gospodinov ( Where We Are Not , Ikaros 2022). He has also written one-act plays, which have been performed on various stages in Cyprus, as well as scripts for short films.
She studied Classical and Modern Greek Literature at the University of Cyprus and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her doctoral dissertation, currently being published, concerns the critical and fictional work of Alexandros Kotzias.
Born in 1980 in Bulgaria. Lives and works in Nicosia.