Upcoming Performances

A Reading with Lili Bita

Excerpts from "SISTER OF DARKNESS, a memoir and WOMEN OF FIRE AND BLOOD, her latest book of poetry at the Cornelia Street Cafe.

Dynamic Greek writer and actress Lili Bita will be reading from "SISTER OF DARKNESS, a memoir and WOMEN OF FIRE AND BLOOD, her latest book of poetry at the Cornelia Street Cafe on January 16 at 6 p.m. at the Cornelia Street Cafe at 24 Cornelia Street in Greenich Village, NYC, as part of the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Greek-American Writers Association. Some of the themes in her work are domestic violence and the importance of erotic love in interpersonal relationships.

Woodstock Memoir Festival

Mrs. Bita will be appearing at the festival in February reading from Sister of Darkness

Features

Lili Bita Immigrant Photo

An Immigrants Story

Author, actress, and musician, Lili Bita has been one of contemporary Greece’s foremost cultural ambassadors.

The brilliant interpretations of Greek culture and history in her acclaimed one-woman shows, “The Greek Woman Through the Ages” and “Freedom or Death,” have brought the legacy off Hellenism around the world. Her own poetry and fiction have won praise from such figures as Nikos Kazantzakis, Anais Nin, and Kenneth Rexroth. Read More

Articles

Lili Bita and Anais Nin

HOW I MET ANAIS

In 1968 I was a young, fresh immigrant from Greece. And, like most immigrants, poor, lonely, confused, feeling guilty for leaving behind family and country.

One day, Robert Zaller, an accomplished writer himself, brought me a book. “I think you’ll like this writer. She’ll help you survive.” With my poor English, I spelled the title, Under a Glass Bell and the author’s name, Anais Nin. With the help of a dictionary and Robert’s too, I was able to enter the worlds locked within this magical collection of short stories. I then announced to Robert, “I will interview her for a Greek newspaper in New York so my compatriots can learn about a great woman and writer.” Robert smiled. “She’s famous and very busy. I don’t want you to be disappointed.” “That’s fine,” I answered, with a donkey’s stubbornness. “No matter what, I’ll meet her and I will interview Anais Nin. You’ll see.” Read More

Cover image of Women of Fire and Blood

Books

In Women of Fire and Blood, Lili Bita reimagines the archetypal heroines of antiquity through a modern feminist sensibility. These poems, with their lyric directness and force and their powerful erotic candor, are a distinctive addition to the work of one of today's most important Greek poets. Purchase on Amazon.com

Cover image of Sister of Darkness

From childhood on an idyllic Greek island to coming of age in a world torn by war to entrapment and escape from a brutal marriage, Sister of Darkness is the powerful story of a woman's journey of self-discovery and personal liberation. Purchase on Amazon.com

Rich in sensuous evocation, unsparing in its candor and lucidity, this long-awaited work is destined to be a feminist classic.

Cover image of The Scorpion and Other Stories

Set for the most part during the Second World War and the civil war that followed in Greece, these stories are not about the politics of the period but about its impact on the lives of ordinary people. This was the most traumatic decade of modern Greek history, and peoples lives concerned with family, marriage, death and private blood feuds, mirrored the larger struggle around the devastation of war and social strife. Purchase on Amazon.com