Stephanie Nikolopoulos's Blog, page 12

A Swedish Children’s Author’s World War II Diaries May Make for an Enlightening Read

Inger Nilsson in Pippi Longstocking  I just found out that Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren’s World War II diaries are set to be published in English for the first time in autumn 2016. I had the opportunity to see the Swedish author’s ephemera at the Junibacken Museum devoted to her in Stockholm, which I wrote about for The […]

A Collage of Art and Literature at the Guggenheim

  Carol Bove, Vague Pure Affection, 2012, wood and steel shelves, paper, brass, concrete, and acrylic, 85″ x 35 1/2″ x 16″. © Carol Bove, photo courtesy Maccarone Inc., New York When I was growing up, I wanted to be an artist. So I became a writer. At Scripps College, I majored in English literature and […]

This May Improve Your Mood about Your Social Media Presence

This is me reading at Ronnie Norpel‘s fantastic reading series Tract 187 Culture Clatch at The West End —/ photo by author Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond Over the years, I’ve blogged about everything from twitter to pinterest, in the effort to help fellow writers think about their social media presence. Why? Because every conference and expo I’ve attended has drilled […]

I’m Reading at WORD Bookstore in Jersey City

I am beyond excited to be reading at WORD Jersey City. I’ve been a fan of the bookstore since before the Jersey City location existed when they only had the Brooklyn location. I look forward to reading their newsletter, which always has inspired book recommendations. They also curate great literary events for readers, writers, and authors. […]

Hibiscus Nectarine Tea: A Trip to Hawai’i in a Glass

When I was attending college in LA I became friend with few ladies from Hawai’i. We were equally distant from home, each of us taking a six-hour flight to get to Scripps. More than just the physical distance, we felt culturally far from our origins. They were used to the slower and friendlier island life, […]

Please Touch the Art

JEPPE HEIN: PLEASE TOUCH THE ART If there’s one art event to check out this summer, it’s Jeppe Hein’s Please Touch the Art. Brooklyn Bridge Park brings art outdoors, making it accessible and fun for children and hipsters alike. Please Touch the Art is an experience. It’s a scavenger hunt of touchable art. From the Brooklyn Bridge […]

Texting as a New Yorker

  There’s a Kerouac aphorism that goes, “Don’t use the phone. People are never read to answer it. Use poetry.” I love that. I always feel anxious making a telephone call. What if the person is in the middle of dinner? What if they’re out with somebody else? It would appear I’m not the only […]

The Perfect Novel for My Personality … and Yours!

Obsessed with Buzzfeed quizzes, I of course find Myers-Briggs types fascinating. Perhaps as a memoirist I’m always on the quest to know myself better. Or maybe it’s because I’m Greek. Wasn’t it Socrates who said, “Know thyself”? At times, the Myers-Briggs test seems to know me better than I know myself. It narrows in on […]

Jalapeno-Infused Lemonade

  In the early 2000s, my sister and brother liked a stand-up comedian by the name of Russell Peters, who used to do a routine on children of mixed heritage. Growing up with a Greek father and a mother of Swedish ancestry, we’d often joked if we were Greekish or Sweek. One of Russell Peters’ […]

The Trumpet of the Swan

“Safety is all well and good: I prefer freedom.”  ~ E. B. White, The Trumpet of the Swan   We took the train out to Prospect Park and watched the swans paddling around the lake outside the boathouse. We watched the cygnets with their precious little wings fall in line, one after the other. Both their […]