The first biography that tells the captivating story of Eva Palmer-Sikelianos (1874-1952), an American actress, director, composer, and weaver, best known for her efforts to revive the Greek spirit through the Delphic Festivals. As Artemis Leonti reveals, Palmer's most significant work was the revival of ancient Greek life in her daily existence.
For almost half a century, dressed in ancient-style cloaks and sandals woven by herself, she sought to make modern life freer and more beautiful through a creative connection to antiquity. Along the way, she crossed paths with other pioneering creative artists like Natalie Clifford Barney, Renée Vivien, Isadora Duncan, Susan Glasspell, George Cram Cook, Richard Strauss, Dimitris Mitropoulos, Nikos Kazantzakis, George Seferis, Henry Miller, Paul Robeson, and Ted Shawn.
Smart and beautiful, with hair that reached the floor, Eva Palmer was a wealthy debutante from New York who studied ancient Greek at Bryn Mawr College before turning her back on conventional society to live as a lesbian in Paris.
Later, she followed Raymond Duncan (Isadora's brother) and his wife to Greece and married Angelos Sikelianos in 1907. Wholeheartedly dedicated to her cause, Eva recreated ancient artistic forms and directed ancient Greek tragedy with her own choreography, costumes, and even music.
In her effort to revive the ancient Greek spirit, she faced financial ruin and returned to America in 1933. During the Cold War, she was blacklisted for her harsh criticism of American imperialism and was unable to obtain a visa to visit Greece until just a few months before her death.
Drawing from the material of hundreds of letters recently discovered and presenting many previously unpublished photographs, Palmer's biography is a vibrant recreation of the unforgettable story of an important nonconformist, described by a contemporary in the following words: "She is the only ancient Greek woman I have ever known."
“An important, inspiring, captivating book.” Emily Greenwood, Yale University
“I learned a lot from this important book, which weaves together various disparate threads into the rich fabric of cultural modernism.” Fiona MacIntosh, University of Oxford
“This innovative book brings the revolutionary, pioneering work and adventurous life of Eva Sikelianos out of the shadows, shedding light on every dark corner of her archive and history. Leonti skillfully unravels the context in which a woman operated, breaking the boundaries of time, influencing the cultural direction of modern Greece, and upending American culture in ways yet to be explored.” Eleni Sikelianos, poet and great-granddaughter of Eva Palmer-Sikelianos
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