Nicollette Barsamian

Meet Karen Van Dyck, Kimon A. Doukas Professor of Hellenic Studies, teaches in the Classics department. Van Dyck recently co-edited The Norton Anthology of Greek Poetry. Read on as Professor Van Dyck reveals her inner bibliophile.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading a lot of things. I’m reading Andre Lefevre’s [book] on translation and a book by Cassirer called Langauge and Myth. I’m interested in the unconscious grammar of experience. I’m reading this in a reading group on the topic of language. Most of us aren’t linguists, but we’re interested in language. I’m interested in multilingualism—how do different languages exert pressure on each other and how might this help us think about multiculturalism in more complex ways.

What are your favorite books?

My favorite book is Margarita Karapanou’s novel Kassandra and the Wolf. It’s about a little girl growing up in Greece under the dictatorship. Another one of my favorite books is Olga Broumas’s Beginning with O.

Any guilty pleasures?

Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams. It’s old, but fun. I’m fascinated by dreams in general. I write mine down.