Lili Bita
Sunday, March 19, 2006
2:00 PM

Ms. Bita will read from Sister of Darkness. A discussion and reception will follow and signed copies of the book will be available for purchase.

Although the book contains honest and occasionally graphic passages, the reading is suitable for all audiences.

About Sister of Darkness
From childhood on an idyllic Greek island to coming of age in a world torn by war to entrapment and final escape from a brutal marriage, Sister of Darkness is the powerful story of a woman’s journey of self-discovery and personal liberation. Through the saga of her own life, Lili Bita expresses the quest of a generation for freedom, and the ongoing struggle of women everywhere against violence and oppression. Rich in sensuous evocation, unsparing in its candor and lucidity, this long-awaited work fulfills the prophecy of Anais Nin: “Lili Bita transcends the individual woman. Her experiences, love or hatred, birth or death, ecstasy or despair, become universal.” Sister of Darkness is destined to be a feminist classic.

Praise for Sister of Darkness
"Sister of Darkness is an unforgettable tale of madness and endurance."
Nuala O’Faolain, bestselling author of Are You Somebody and Almost There

About the Author
Author and actress, Greek-born Lili Bita has published more than a dozen volumes of fiction and verse, and has performed classical and modern theater on three continents. Her work has been translated into several languages and widely anthologized, and she has held residencies and offered master classes at leading American universities.
(Visit www.lilibita.com for more information.)

Excerpt

I came to in a wave of sour sweat. I sat upright, my whole body sore. There was caked blood on the crown of my head.

Tasos shaved and began to dress. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My eyes were swollen and my face was twisted with sleep, but there was a deeper distortion in the features, as if someone had marred them underneath. I washed, and put on the gray dress. I noticed a faint stain under the right breast.

"Let's get it over with," Tasos said.

I put on my coat.

We walked the few blocks to the courthouse side by side, like condemned prisoners in step. The cold February air pressed down on us like a substance so long starved of warmth that it had yielded all hope of life.

Other couples were waiting their turn for a legal license to fornicate. They sat on benches. A few clutched stiff bouquets. No one spoke.

Our turn came. Tasos put a ring on my finger. The clerk read something out of a book. We both said yes to it. The clerk pronounced us man and wife.

"You will pay for this," Tasos said as we left the building. "You will pay for everything."