CALLIOPE, poetry by Hilary Sideris

CALLIOPE, poetry by Hilary Sideris

Hilary has come visit twice the last two years. Both times, she was very precise with her stay. She stayed from 1st until 15th of May in 2023 and 2024 and she was primarily working on her poems. Some were influenced by her stay like Angeliki and Nerophidia. A few days ago, her new poems collection has been published under the name Calliope from Broadstone Books.

Calliope is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice.

Titling a book after the muse of poetry and music might seem a gutsy move – though one that Hilary Sideris handles adeptly in her new collection – but this also was the name of her Greek grandmother transplanted to the American midwest (“unsmiling in her heavy black”), and thus a portal into family and memory and not always pleasant history. More so even than typical for poetry, this book is all about language, or languages, the intersection of cultures and lives living on in words, and more specifically in names. Including her own rather eccentric name: recalling that she was “a sullen child” – “I wasn’t / joyful, glad in Latin, /propitious in Greek” – she finds now “I age my way / into hilarity.” That hilarity, that joy, is evident throughout this collection, even when her subjects turn dark. An opening epigraph from the dictionary reminds us of another meaning of the title, naming an antique steam-powered musical instrument that once lured patrons over long distances to “showboats, circuses, and carnivals,” and this meaning is also apt as Sideris lures us across the world to witness the spectacle of her life. Appropriately, she leaves us in a small unfinished church in Greece, where “We’re beyond history. We have no / slot to put each other in.”

According to Myra Malkin, author of Sunset Grand Couturier, Calliope is a page-turner. Concise as these poems are, every event they describe comes with a penumbra, a wagon piled with free associations. In part, the book is an unsentimental memoir.

Vasiliki Katsarou, author of Memento Tsunami & The Second Home, thinks that Hilary lives fully at the junction of several languages—her native English, a patrilineal Greek, and by deep affection, Italian. The poems draw explicit and fascinating connections between language and history—both painful personal histories and the shared historical record.  The poems in this volume accrete, as layers of resonance accumulate, and tantalizingly suggest that people may in fact “grow into their names, as into a suit” as an epigraph to the book notes. 

The book is available online at Broadstone Books website as a paperback. (Publication Date: October 30, 2024, ISBN: 978-1-956782-87-5).

We cannot describe how happy and proud we are for Hilary and her work as well as the fact that part of her collection has been fostered during her stay in our creative space.

A massive THANK YOU and a huge CONGRATULATIONS from the bottom of our heart!!

About the Author

Hilary Sideris is the author of Un Amore Veloce (Kelsay Books 2019), The Silent B (Dos Madres Press 2019), Animals in English (Dos Madres Press 2020), and Liberty Laundry (Dos Madres Press 2022.) Her poems appear in the anthologies Pomegranate Seeds: An Anthology of Greek-American Poetry, edited by Dean Kostos, and Stronger Than Fear: Poems of Empowerment, Compassion and Social Justice, edited by Carol Alexander and Stephen Massimilla. She grew up in Indiana and lives in Brooklyn, where she works as a professional developer for CUNY Start, a program for underserved, limited-income students at The City University of New York.

Robert P. Robinson reviews his stay at Writers’ Retreats in Greece

Robert P Robinson

I stayed at La Casa Grande, a beautiful two-story, two-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the small village of St. John. Courtesy of Nikos and Georgia, I was able to enjoy coffee and snacks in charming Aliveri, beautiful sites and delicious dinner at the water front, a visit to the archaeological sites and museum in Eretria, and relaxing time at the beach. At the same time, I was given the freedom to construct my schedule, and thus read hundreds of pages and wrote sometimes over 2000 words a day. The home is in a quiet area, so I had time and space to read, rest, think, and write. I was able to analyze my archival material, heavily revise a book chapter, and write two brand new essays.

And compliments to the chef! Georgia kept the fridge stocked with snacks and breakfast foods and brought delicious and filling Greek dishes with local-style touch. When I say everything was delicious, I mean EVERYTHING!

Beyond the space, Georgia and Nikos were so warm and friendly. For a week, I was invited into their world—introduced to local folks and family. You can tell they have a passion for people and for what they do. In addition, they were available at any time, and their proximity to the home was a major perk.

Again, I highly recommend staying in one of their retreat spaces. In fact, I hope to return next summer for my next writing project!

Robert P. Robinson is an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at John Jay College and Doctoral Faculty in Urban Education and Interactive Technology & Pedagogy at The Graduate Center, CUNY. Prior to higher education, he was a K-12 educator and mentor for 11 years. His broad research and teaching focus on the Black Freedom Movement, Black education history, Blackqueer studies, digital humanities, history of education, and curriculum studies. His forthcoming book project is a history of the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School (OCS) as a site for understanding Black self-determination, the shift in mainstream curriculum and pedagogy, and the Black radical imagination in education.

Robert spent one week at La Casa Grande in Agios Ioannis, Evia in mid July 2024.

Angeliki — by Hilary Sideris

Agios Ioannis Evia La Casa Grande Writers Retreats Greece

What do I do with my body while 
she crosses herself, lights holy oil, 

kisses icons in the small, 
unfinished church she’s led me to

with gestures, undulating speech? 
Watch her moves attentively? 

Lower my gaze, look away? 
We walk downhill past mottled sheep, 

a dog she calls a Greek Shepherd.
We’re beyond history. We have no 

slot to put each other in. TV is kako, 
she says. Symphono, Kyria, I agree. 

This is my house. Come for coffee. 
Eucharisto. Does she mean now? 

Tasting the eucharist in thanks,
I stand here, mute, thirsty. 

—by Hilary Sideris

Copyright ©2023, by Hilary Sideris. All Rights Reserved.

Source: https://heroinchic.weebly.com/blog/poetry-by-hilary-sideris1155686

Hilary Sideris

Hilary Sideris’s poems have appeared in The American Journal of Poetry, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, OneArt, Poetry Daily, Right Hand Pointing, SalamanderSixth Finch, and Verse Daily. She is the author of Un Amore Veloce (Kelsay Books 2019), The Silent B (Dos Madres Press 2019), and Animals in English, poems after Temple Grandin (Dos Madres Press 2020). Liberty Laundry, her latest collection from Dos Madres, was recommended by Small Press Distribution.

Hilary lives in Brooklyn and works as a professional developer for the CUNY Start Program at The City University of New York.


We hosted Hilary for some time in May 2023 at La Casa Grande in Agios Ioannis, Evia. 

We are more than grateful and humbled for being part of her inspiration and eventually her work.

Nerophidia — by Hilary Sideris

Nerophidia

Nikos apologizes for the clouds.
He says sheep might disturb my sleep.

Two hours from Athens, on Evia, 
there will be small black snakes

called nerophidia, who love water, 
nero in Greek, but they won’t bite.

A bee might fly into the house. 
We cross Chalkida bridge. Red

rubber strips flap from the struts. 
That’s not an accident – bungy

jumpers. The weather’s strange 
as usual, chilly in May.

Because I am American, Nikos 
offers to turn the AC on.

—by Hilary Sideris

Copyright ©2023, by Hilary Sideris. All Rights Reserved.

Source: https://spinozablue.com/hilary-sideris-new-poems/

Hilary Sideris

Hilary Sideris is the author of Un Amore Veloce (Kelsay Books 2019), The Silent B (Dos Madres Press 2019), Animals in English (Dos Madres Press 2020), and Liberty Laundry (Dos Madres Press 2022.)

She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

She spent most of May at La Casa Grande, a writers’ retreat in Evia, Greece.


We hosted Hilary for some time in May 2023 at La Casa Grande in Agios Ioannis, Evia.

We are more than grateful and humbled for being part of her inspiration and eventually her work.

Hilary Sideris reviews Writers’ Retreats in Greece

Hilary Sideris

It was a joy to spend two weeks in this wild, but serene and ancient place, walking on shepherds’ paths and seeing goats, sheep, frogs, and gorgeous crows in the olive groves. The locals are very friendly if you know a few Greek words, which I found really fun. The water of the Evian Gulf is transparent, and there’s a lovely beach nearby with mountains in the distance. The house is spacious and old, but beautifully renovated. 

Nikos and Georgia clearly care about food (a delicious Greek dish was delivered daily!) and about writers. They are true travelers with open minds and hearts who know the value of their own place and traditions. I felt well taken care of, but had plenty of space and time for writing. I’m working on a book of poems, and my time at La Casa Grande was very productive. 

Hilary Sideris‘s poems have appeared in The American Journal of Poetry, Arts & Letters, Barrow Street,The Cortland Review, Connecticut Review, Fourteen Hills, Green Mountains Review, Gulf Coast, Poet LorePoetry DailyRhinoQuidditySalamanderThe Southern Poetry ReviewSouthampton Review, Sugar House ReviewRoom, and Tar River Poetry, among others.

Her work appears in the anthologies Stronger Than Fear: Poems of Empowerment, Compassion, and Social Justice, edited by Carol Alexander and Stephen Massimilla, Pomegranate Seeds: An Anthology of Greek-American Poetry, edited by Dean Kostos, Token Entry: NYC Subway Poems, edited by Jerry LeFemina, and Rabbit Ears: TV Poems, edited by Joel Allegretti. She is the author of five poetry chapbooks: The Orange Juice Is Over (Finishing Line Press 2008), Baby (Pudding House Press 2009), Gold & Other Fish (Finishing Line Press 2011), Sweet Flag (Finishing Line Press 2013), and The Silent B (Dos Madres Press 2019), as well as five full-length collections: Most Likely to Die (Poets Wear Prada Press 2014), The Inclination to Make Waves (Big Wonderful Press 2016), Un Amore Veloce (Kelsay Books 2019) Animals in English, Poems after Temple Grandin (Dos Madres Press 2020), and Liberty Laundry (Dos Madres Press, 2022).

Hilary studied English Literature at Indiana University and received her MFA from The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She works as a professional developer for the CUNY Start program at The City University of New York and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

You can follow Hilary here: http://www.hilarysiderispoetry.com & https://instagram.com/hilarysideris

Hilary spent two weeks at La Casa Grande in Agios Ioannis, Evia in mid May 2023.

A new addition in our residencies: Villa Cortesia Maritima Writing Retreat in Amarynthos, Evia.

Cortesia-Maritima15

Villa Cortesia Maritima Writing Retreat is located in Amarynthos (Evia). It is a 60 square meters independent cottage inside a half acre plot with an all day stunning seaside view. 

It has one bedroom with a double bed, one bathroom with shower and hot water all day, a fully equipped kitchen, a spacious patio with insane sea-view, A/C, fireplace and BBQ outside.

The Villa Cortesia Maritima Writing Retreat in Amarynthos, Evia  offers:

  • Wireless Internet
  • Fireplace 
  • Toiletries, bed linens & towels
  • Freshly cooked meals & complimentary drinks 
  • Social media networking & promotion of your project*
  • Transportation to & from the Athens International Airport provided by The Greek Taxi or Evia Private Transfers

Pricing: Please download for FREE our Season 2024 Brochure

Generous discounts apply for travel nomads, writers, journalists & translators who plan to leave and return as well as long stays in order to start & finish a project in our retreat (which will be a great honor). Please drop us an email at [email protected] or send your application today.

Do not forget to check out our handy guide with some really useful info before visiting our Retreats in Evia.

Also, you can always take a look on the range of services we are offering besides the writing retreats.