March is National Women’s History Month. I’ll be posting quotes by women writers each Monday of the month.
You might also like:::
“Are you wearing my socks?” he asked. Upon closer inspection, he laughed: “You’re wearing two different socks.”
I felt a tug on my shoulder. Startled out of my morning fog, I turned around. There was a woman I hadn’t seen in quite some time. We had graduated from the same women’s college but in different years. “How are you?” she asked. Then she asked if I’d read a certain book. I hadn’t and she suggested we read it together and discuss over a meal. It felt serendipitous. It’s moments like this that make me love New York City even more.
Even more than art, literature is fundamental to my life. Reading was so important to my development as a child and continues to expand my horizons to this day. I earn my living as a writer and an editor, but even my social calendar revolves around literary events. Literature is very much a part of my identity, and I make a priority for it in my life.
Anne Waldman, Penny Arcade, Jan Herman, Steve Dalachinsky, and Aimee Herman read at Burroughs 101, hosted by Three Rooms Press, at Cornelia Street Cafe. (Anne Waldman pictured)
Pam Belluck, Hettie Jones, Margot Olavarria, Marci Blackman, and Beth Lisick read at Women on Top, hosted by Three Rooms Press, at Cornelia Street Cafe. (Hettie Jones pictured)
Big Sur (an adaptation of Kerouac’s novel) on Netflix
Epic four-hour brunch at The District with two writer friends, talking about “ethnic” literature, faith, and relationships.
After Sunset: Poetry Walk on the High Line.
My friends surprising me by taking me to a book-themed restaurant on my first night in Budapest.
Brunch with friends at the most exquisite bookstore, Book Cafe & Alexandra Bookstore, in Budapest.
Reading Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, a recommendation from my friend Jane.
David Amram telling stories about Jack Kerouac and other literary figures and amazing us with his music at Cornelia Street Cafe.
Brunch with my friend Misako Oba, whose new book of photography and memoir, which I helped edit, was published.
Drinks with one of my favorite people at Durden, a bar based on author Chuck Palahniuk’s novel-turned-movie Fight Club.
New York City Poetry Festival with my writing group partner.
Watched Homer’s The Odyssey performed, put on by the Public Theater, in Central Park.
Reading from Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” (coauthored with Paul Maher Jr.) at WORD Bookstore in Jersey City.
Teaching a writing class at the Hobart Festival of Women Writers.
The Redeemed Writer: The Call and the Practice, a conference I co-led in organizing through the Center for Faith & Work. (Pastor David Sung pictured)
Brunch at Caffe Reggio, where Jack Kerouac and friends used to hang out.
Speaking on the panel Lessons Learned: Published Authors Share Hard-Earned Insights with Nana Brew-Hammond, Kerika Fields, Melissa Walker, Ruiyan Xu, and Jakki Kerubo at BinderCon.
Meeting regularly with one of my best friends to read and write together at the New York Public Library.
Checking out the Ernest Hemingway: Between Two Wars exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum with a friend who is a huge Hemingway fan.
Spotting a first edition copy of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin.
Reading Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See.
Like literature?
Burning Furiously Beautiful on sale at Barnes & Noble.
Burning Furiously Beautiful on sale at Amazon.
My Pinterest posts called Lit Life.
I’m on Twitter.
Fred W. McDarrah: The Artist’s World at Steven Kasher Gallery. McDarrah took photographs of the Beat and Abstract Expressionist scene in New York City.
I took this photograph in May of this year while standing on the beach across from my parents’ house in Greece. The name of the beach is Lagouvardos, which is part of the Peloponnese. I’d stolen one last look at the beach before I traveled back up to Athens to catch a plane.
Like the tides, I have a come-and-go relationship with Greece. It seems like I no sooner arrive, and it’s time for me to leave again. Perhaps like so many children of immigrants, I struggle with the concept of home. I call New York my home. I love the skyscrapers and window-shops, the fast-paced energy. It’s difficult in the beginning for me to settle into the quieter lifestyle of Greece, and yet soon it feels as if I’ve been there all along. Indeed, I’ve known my family’s house in Greece many years longer than the apartment I now live in in New York. More than that, it’s family that makes a home. It’s heartbreaking every time I have to leave.
I created Hellas: A 2016 Calendar to capture the natural beauty of Lagouvardos and Filiatra. The photographs show the blue, blue waters my father grew up swimming in; wildflowers that signify Greek resilience; our blue-and-white flag flying victoriously; and mountains rising toward heaven.
Experience the beauty of Greece every day of the year with Hellas, a 2016 calendar. The natural landscape of the Mediterranean comes to life in rich, colorful photography of Greek beaches, wildflowers, and lush palm trees. As you record your daily appointments in the calendar, the stresses of life will recede like the tide of the ocean in these stunning photographs.
Purchase your own copy of Hellas here.
“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning. If you knew when you began a book what you would say at the end, do you think that you would have the courage to write it?
What is true for writing and for love relationships is true also for life. The game is worthwhile insofar as we don’t know where it will end.”
~Michel Foucault
Happy National Coffee Day!
…Just don’t post a photo of your coffee or you might anger Rant Chic. Although, apparently there are coffeehouses that “print” your selfies into your latte with edible brown powder. The latte selfie is real!
I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season on Sunday. Oh how I love my Barnes & Noble Cafe discount!!
What I really want to tell you about, though is that I discovered espresso cheese!! I road tripped out in Connecticut with two of my very dear friends whom I’ve known forever and ever, and we went out to Stew Leondard’s. Have you been there? It’s amazing. Maybe it’s all my city living, but grocery stores in suburbs amaze me with their wondrous wide aisle lit with bright lights showcasing jalapeño potato chips and refrigerated dog food. This one was one was particularly exceptional. They have cupcakes shaped like cheeseburgers and animatronic butter.
The employees are all super nice too. One saw me pondering an espresso cheese. I was so curious, I immediately answered “yes” when he asked me if I’d like to try it, even though I normally bashfully say no because I don’t want to bother them or appear greedy. Let me tell you: I am so glad my eagerness betrayed me. Made by Sartori, Espresso Bellavitano is earthy and sweet, decadent, and complex. It’s the perfect cheese to impress guests. I’d pair it with red grapes, raisins, currants, and cherry chutney. A hearty red wine would go well with it.
Here are a few of my past coffee-related posts to celebrate @NationalCoffeeDay:::
The Coffee Habit of Jack Kerouac
Kerouac Opened a Million Coffee Bars
Caffe Reggio is one of my favorite coffeehouses in all of New York City. I recommended their cup in my Beat gift guide.
Places to drink coffee in Grand Rapids
From the Ottoman Empire to Greenwich Village: Coffee Houses’ Literary History
What’s Your Coffee Personality? Get Greek-American author Dean Bakopoulos’ take
Not to be outdone by my Greek side… The Starving Artist Gulps Down Konditori’s Swedish Coffee
A habit I got from my mother.
Coffee not your drink of choice?
Stir up Kerouac’s Big Sur Manhattan
Or toast to Ernest Hemingway with a Daiquiri Recipe
Take a road trip to Monterey and visit Bargetto Winery for an apricot wine
Or hop on the subway and try the orange wine (not orange flavored!) at Brooklyn Winery
Go Greek with Pindar’s Pythagoras Wine
Speaking of lemonade… How ’bout some Champagne Pink Lemonade Punch?
Want something sans alcohol?
Hibiscus Nectarine Tea: A Trip to Hawai’i in a Glass
Holla for some Jalapeño-Infused Lemonade
Or if you’re a starving artist, Jazz Up Your Tap Water
Stephanie Nikolopoulos is a writer, editor, writing teacher, and speaker based in New York City.
She is the coauthor, with Paul Maher Jr., of "Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road.'"
You can email her at stephanie_701 {@} yahoo.com
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 