LOS ANGELES – The UCLA SNF Hellenic Center presents fascinating upcoming events including A Conversation with the Author: Chris Jaymes, "Sons of Chaos” on Saturday, September 18, and “Byron's Romantic Philhellenism” with Maria Schoina on Saturday, September 25, both events at 10 AM Pacific/ 1 PM Eastern/ 8 PM Athens, via Zoom.

Chris Jaymes discusses his graphic novel Sons of Chaos and the process of its composition in order to offer his own answer as to why the Greek Revolution of 1821 still resonates today. Sons of Chaos is the result of 10 years of research, which led to the creation of a symbolic, fictionalized story superimposed on historic events. Jaymes’ reworking of the story of Ali Pasha and Markos Botsaris presents the Greek Revolution as one of the greatest feats in modern history. It exemplifies the power of unification at a profound level: a small nation managed to come together and initiated a revolution leading to the fall of a massive empire. As the story unfolds, Botsaris becomes a symbolic beacon and represents numerous participants throughout many battles. Readers are introduced to many aspects of the Revolution within a single volume, which retains the integrity of the actual history. The goal of the work is to present these events in an engaging manner and capture the curiosity of a non-Greek reader, while honoring those who gave their lives to establish and stabilize the freedoms enjoyed today.

Co-organized by the Hellenic American Project (HAP); Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY); and the UCLA SNF Hellenic Center, the talk will be moderated by Nicholas Alexiou, Sociologist/Poet, Queens College, CUNY; and Simos Zenios, Associate Director, UCLA SNF Hellenic Center.

Register online: shorturl.at/bhitP.

The UCLA SNF Hellenic Center presents "Byron's Romantic Philhellenism" with Maria Schoina on September 25. Byron’s philhellenic verse and romantic involvement in the Greek Revolution inspired a host of poets and artists in Europe and across the Atlantic. His death in Missolonghi on April 19, 1824 appears to have been an especially great force in raising sympathy for the Revolution and stimulating young philhellenes to join the Greek fighting. But the leading English Romantic poet of the time was often ambiguous about the subject of Greece. Recent biographies of Byron and modern interpretations of his venture have duly turned their attention to this debatable issue, providing various frames of reference for reading Byron’s decision to join the Greek struggle.

This lecture will discuss the changing aspects of Byron’s philhellenism as they were acted out in his lifetime and expressed through his poetic production: from the Romantic Hellenism of Childe Harold’s lines and the Eastern Tales, to the grounded skepticism about Greece’s political future found in his prose and letters, to his life-changing decision to translate his thoughts into actions, “words” into “things,” by joining the Greek uprising and committing himself to a people’s war of national liberation.

This event is co-sponsored by the UCLA SNF Hellenic Center; SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies, Simon Fraser University; and the Embassy of Greece in USA.

Register online: shorturl.at/N0158.

More information about upcoming events is available online: https://hellenic.ucla.edu.