Participant Accomplishments: Eleni Bastea's New Book of Poems

We are thrilled to announce that former Taos Summer Writers' Conference participant, Eleni Bastea's first poetry collection, Venice without Gondolas, is scheduled to be published this summer by Finishing Line Press. The book is available for pre-order now!

Eleni Bastéa was born and raised in Greece. She studied art history at Bryn Mawr College and architecture and architectural history at the University of California at Berkeley. She teaches at the University of New Mexico.

“Eleni Bastéa's "Venice Without Gondolas" is a collection rich in sense of place, highly imagistic, and labyrinthian in its explorations of the past. The poems work beautifully as a sequence exploring family, history and mythology, often simultaneously. It begins with Marco Polo's reflections on Venice and ends with a liturgy at a contemporary kitchen table. This small book travels great distances.” — Diane Thiel, "Echolocations," Winner of the 13th Annual Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize