Emmanouela Kantzia_Τα Καταλοιπα (1932-1944) (Βιβλιο Α & Βιβλιο Β)

The Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies supports more than a dozen fellows each year who conduct intensive research at Princeton. Former Seeger fellows have published hundreds of books with leading publishers and thousands of articles. Their scholarship reflects the broad, interdisciplinary nature of Hellenic studies, spanning fields from history to religion to literature and periods from antiquity to the present.

In the February 5, 2025, edition of Director’s Bookshelf, Seeger Center Director Dimitri Gondicas speaks with Emmanouela Kantzia about a collection she edited, Τα Κατάλοιπα (1932-1944) (Βιβλίο Α & Βιβλίο Β) / Demetrios Capetanakis, Collected Works II: Unpublished Texts (1932-1944). Τα Κατάλοιπα is the second volume of Capetanakis’ collected works and includes two books. It was published by ΜΙΕΤ & ΕΚΕΠ in September 2023. Kantzia is a member of the Class of 1996 and was a visiting fellow at the Seeger Center in 2016. She is an assistant professor of Modern Greek literature and intercultural literary studies at the University of Thessaly.

As an undergraduate, you majored in comparative literature, earning a certificate from the Program in Hellenic Studies and editing the journal Πἀραλος (Paralos) published by the Program in 1996. Please share some highlights from your experience as a Program in Hellenic Studies student at Princeton. 

My best memories involve people in moments of brilliance, of fragility, of deliberation. In his seminars, Edmund Keeley combined a passion for poetry and for the poets, several of whom he had met and translated, with the strict methodological principles of New Criticism. He was captivating and intimidating at the same time. I also fondly remember Rachel Hadas, especially her seminars on James Merrill.  Robert Fagles was a wonderful man who never tired of reading aloud to us from his translations of Homer, his voice softened by pieces of candy. (He always brought candy to class for that purpose.) Among the guests hosted by the Program, I recollect Nanos Valaoritis and Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke reading from their work. 

Editing Πάραλος was a significant learning experience and an opportunity to collaborate with fellow students and faculty. It also forced me to reflect critically (perhaps for the first time) on different notions of/approaches to Hellenism. 

Finally, the thesis-writing process was a seductive experiment, in which I (audaciously) often crossed the lines between scholarship and creative writing. I was lucky enough to be mentored by Stathis Gourgouris and Robert Fagles, whose guidance and wisdom kept me in check.

After earning an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard, you returned to the Seeger Center in 2016 as a visiting fellow, working on an article about Capetanakis – whom you described as “a poet, philosopher, critic, translator, and spokesman of Modern Greek letters” – and what became Τα Κατάλοιπα. How did participation in the Seeger Center’s academic community as a visiting fellow impact your work as a whole and this book project? 

Immensely. Part of Capetanakis’ archive (including correspondence and lecture manuscripts) is housed at Princeton University Library in the Lehmann Family Papers. A visiting fellowship gave me the time to study this archive in depth. Access to book collections and other resources at the Library allowed me to conduct extensive research on his life, works, and networks. Being part of a community of scholars afforded me the opportunity to present my preliminary findings, receive valuable feedback and advice, and identify potential flaws and drawbacks in my approach. 

I spent a lot of time discussing my project with Karen Emmerich, who has a good background and interest in intercultural literary studies and textual scholarship. I also benefited from the work of other visiting scholars work in unexpected ways. Timothy Duff’s workshop on Plutarch’s Lives inspired reflection and further reading on biographical tropes and conventions. 

What would you like readers of these books to learn?

Capetanakis forces us to reconsider the ways in which cultural mobility and “contact zones” shaped the course of Modern Greek letters in the turbulent 20th century. He might interest different audiences for different reasons: as a poet-philosopher, a multilingual author, and a cultural mediator. 

His life story is fascinating: in 1922, his family relocated from Smyrna to Greece; in the mid-thirties he studied philosophy with Karl Jaspers in Heidelberg, Germany, witnessing the rise of Nazism; in 1939, he studied English literature at the University of Cambridge; and then Capetanakis settled in London, where he associated with the Bloomsbury Group and collaborated with author and editor John Lehmann. 

In my introduction to the first volume of Capetanakis’ work, I focus on his biography, philosophical background, and intellectual circles. I also discuss his unique approach to literature and (or as) philosophy. In the prologue to the second volume, I emphasize his role as a cultural mediator and the ways in which expatriation shaped his life and work.

A transformative journey to Greece inspired Stanley J. Seeger to found Hellenic studies programs at Princeton. Please tell us about a journey that expanded your intellectual horizons or influenced your research. 

I think the journey, in this case, was a descent into the archives – both at Princeton and at the Gennadius Library, where the rest of Capetanakis’ papers are housed. Archival research can indeed be transformative, no less because it strikes an existential chord.

Photo of Dimitri Gondicas by Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy. Photo of Emmanoeula Kantzia by Costas Roumanias.


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