The 1st day of the workshop “Storytelling waves” at the Cultural Center of Lefkada with the two groups of young Lefkadians was a revealing experience! We thank the Cultural Center of Lefkada and the ladies Mrs. Hara Saiti and Mrs. Ioanna Filippa for their undivided attention.
I have no words for the little writers who incessantly asked questions about Lafcadio Hearn and his life!
Myrtali Nikolaidou’s creation with Mr. Takis Efstathiou and Lefkadio Hearn, at a young age, was the trigger for me to talk to them about the work of both of these unique personalities. With the help of my student Niki Rigopoulou, we coordinated the presentation, and she explained to the children the art of paper folding and the well-known origami.
The two videos prepared by the excellent narrator and friend Sydney Solis, now in Uruguay, for the Japanese theater Kamishibai, kept all of us intrigued.
The 2nd day of the first creative writing workshop, StorytellingWaves, on June 24, 2022, at the Cultural Center of the municipality of Lefkada, with the participation of 22 children from 8 to 10 years old, was completed with the best impressions and with surprise meetings for us!
The children were inspired by Lefkadio Hearn’s stories from the book “Kotto: Strange and precious of Japan covered with cobwebs,” translated by Mrs. Teti Solou!
I am glad they were so committed to writing and enjoyed with Myrtali Nikolaidou and Niki Rigopoulou the origami creations we all did together!
Nonstop questions about Lafcadio and his life! Twists in their stories that the children themselves gave feedback to each other by asking questions.
All their stories will be part of the publication of a book illustrated by the talented Myrtali!On the first day, she made a sketch of Lafcadio, and the children asked to take it. We made copies and gave them with a dedication of a little animal on the back each!
I hope we will meet again in Lefkadio Hearn’s days next year! Our special Thanks to the Vice-President, Mrs. Chara Saiti, Mrs. Ioanna Filippa, the Supervisor of the Cultural Center, and the ubiquitous Mrs. Diana Fouka, whom we thank for everything!
Our tour of the historic center of Lefkadio Hearn gave the opportunity to the young writers to travel together with Lefkadio to different countries and to ask questions and queries about the books that are there.
The museum, the first in Europe dedicated to the author, was inaugurated under the name Lefkadios Hearn Historical Center, on July 4, 2014 and is hosted in a room on the ground floor of the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Lefkada.
The museum includes Lefcadio’s first editions, rare books, and Japanese collectibles. It also includes photographs and texts and exhibits from the important moments of Lefkadio Hearn’s impressive life and from the cultures of Europe, America, and Japan of the late 18th and early 19th centuries through the open mind of his lectures, texts, and stories. The exhibits were given to the Historical Center by the collector Mr. Takis Efstathiou.
The happy occasion to meet Mr. Takis Efstathiou. During the “Lefkadio Hearn’s Days” festival, it was a pleasant surprise to meet the man who brought and re-introduced to the Greeks, Lefkadio Hearn. Myrtali Nikolaidou delivered the portrait depicting Mr. Takis Efstathiou and Lafcadio Hearn to the Cultural Center of the municipality of Lefkada to be exhibited in the Takis Efstathiou Hall! I will not forget the surprise in Mr. Efstathiou’s words that no one has portrayed him so far as well as Myrtali did!
Congratulations, Myrtali, once again! Thank you, Mr. Takis Efstathiou, and we hope to meet again next year on the beautiful island of Lefkada!
Thank you very much, Vasiliki Manolopoulou! She made 120 origami butterflies, and we gave them to the children in the storytelling & writing workshop “StorytellingWaves”!
We made with Myrtali and Niki: over 70 envelopes with hearts, crabs, boats, roses, 100 frogs, over 100 grasshoppers in various sizes, and butterflies, while some girls brought origami books and their own origami on the second day of the workshop!
We may have spent three days here in Patras to prepare them so that the children have something to remember from their first writing meeting with Lafcadio Hearn. Such a rewarding experience, indeed! Thank you so much for everything!
It was a special honor for me to meet with the mayor of Lefkada, Mr. Charalambos Kalos, the mayor from Shinjuku, Japan, Mr. Kenichi Yoshizumi, the well-known writer, Mr. Zachos Samoladas, who moved us with the documentary “TOKEI MARU” and the presentation of his novel, co-written with Mrs. Eleni Andreadou, being the result of historical research that continues!!!
The dance performance ” OSIDORI, “based on one of Lefkadio Hearn’s stories, performed by the dance group”Serepindity,” will be imprinted on my mind for a long time. Congratulations to the municipality of Lefkada for both special nights and the mayor, Mr. Kalos! We renew our meeting for the future. Have a good summer!
