Mermaids and Ikons

Mermaids and Ikons

A Greek Summer

Written by: MacEwen, Gwendolyn
Introduction by: Sullivan, Rosemary

Award-winning poet and novelist Gwendolyn MacEwen explores her strongly personal responses to the landscape, culture, and people of Greece in this exquisitely written travel diary, which was originally published in 1978.

Originally published in 1978, beloved poet and novelist Gwendolyn MacEwen’s first work of nonfiction explores her strongly personal responses to a complex civilization. Partly written during a trip to Greece in 1971, MacEwen moves from the urban tumult of Athens to the radiant simplicity of an island in the Aegean. In this intimate and exquisitely written travel diary, she evokes the very spirit of Greece — the exuberance of the people, the sun-drenched landscape, and the shaping power of ancient traditions and myths in modern Mediterranean life.

Award-winning poet and novelist Gwendolyn MacEwen explores her strongly personal responses to the landscape, culture, and people of Greece in this exquisitely written travel diary, which was originally published in 1978.

Originally published in 1978, beloved poet and novelist Gwendolyn MacEwen’s first work of nonfiction explores her strongly personal responses to a complex civilization. Partly written during a trip to Greece in 1971, MacEwen moves from the urban tumult of Athens to the radiant simplicity of an island in the Aegean. In this intimate and exquisitely written travel diary, she evokes the very spirit of Greece — the exuberance of the people, the sun-drenched landscape, and the shaping power of ancient traditions and myths in modern Mediterranean life.

Published By House of Anansi Press Inc — Aug 26, 2017
Specifications 120 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in
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Excerpt
Written By

GWENDOLYN MacEWEN was born in Toronto in 1941. The author of numerous books of poetry, including The Shadow Maker and Afterworlds, which both won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. She also published novels, plays, travel memoirs, and children’s books. MacEwen died in 1987.

Written By

GWENDOLYN MacEWEN was born in Toronto in 1941. The author of numerous books of poetry, including The Shadow Maker and Afterworlds, which both won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. She also published novels, plays, travel memoirs, and children’s books. MacEwen died in 1987.


“I still remember the initial impact Gwendolyn MacEwen had on me at the Bohemian Embassy in 1960: ‘Where did this come from? How come she’s so young? And what is this unearthly being?’” —Margaret Atwood

“Gwendolyn MacEwen seemed to many an exotic and mesmerizing presence. In less than twenty-six years she published twenty books and became with Margaret Atwood the most celebrated poet of her day.” —Rosemary Sullivan, The Shadow Maker: The Life of Gwendolyn MacEwen