Lunchtime Literature Discussion

The Orthodoxy and Literature Group invites conference participants to read Alexandros Papadiamandis’s charming 1892 short story, “Fey Folk,” and to participate in a lunchtime discussion of the tale moderated by Professor Lori Branch of the University of Iowa and Rev. Dr. Chrysostom Koutloumousianos, abbot of Faneromeni Monastery, Naxos. The short story is available in English at this link (translated by David Connolly) or in Greek at this link.

This informal literary event will be held Friday, January 13, 13:15-14:45 at “Xasomeri” (address: Gamveta 33, Volos 382 21), a lovely restaurant in walking distance of the conference, and the cost for lunch will be €20 per person.

The Greek short story writer Alexandros Papadiamandis was an Orthodox priest’s son and psaltis. The fourth of nine children, he was born on the island of Skiathos in 1851, where he died in 1911 after a career as a journalist, fiction writer, and literary translator. Popularly called “the Greek Dostoevsky,” Papadiamandis is loved for capturing the subtle everyday beauty and extraordinary transformative experiences of Eastern Christianity. “Fey Folk” tells the story of Agallos, a dreamy, middle-aged husband who drags his feet each day on his way home from work, and who, one snowy Christmas eve, mysteriously fails to come home.

This event is designed to allow academics, clergy, and laypeople to experience the joy of discussing Orthodox literature and the potential of such conversations to enrich pastoral care, spiritual formation, and parish life and outreach. All are welcome, and reservations will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve a place at the luncheon, please email Dr. Lori Peterson Branch at [email protected].