Reception and Gallery Talk to Be Held at Theatre Macon Volkoff Exhibit on Oct. 27
MACON, Ga. – An international colloquium honoring the life and writings of Russo-French author Vladimir Volkoff, sponsored by Mercer University's College of Liberal Arts and the Georgia Humanities Council, will be held Nov. 15-16 on Mercer's Macon campus.
The colloquium, titled “Exile is My Country,” will also celebrate the opening of the Volkoff Archive at the Jack Tarver Library, and the publication in English of Volkoff's novel “The Pope's Guest,”translated by Dr. John Marson Dunaway, professor of French and interdisciplinary studies at Mercer.
“Having lived in Georgia for over two decades during the prime of his writing career, Volkoff in his many books provides a unique literary documentation of Georgia culture and life,” said Dr. Dunaway, organizer of the colloquium. “The colloquium will offer Georgians an opportunity to get better acquainted with this colorful figure, whose reflections and observations offer revealing insights into the special value and significance of our way of life. It will also help Georgians better appreciate the treasures of French culture, as viewed through the lens of Volkoff's fiction.”
The colloquium, which will take place in The Bear Spot on the first floor of the library on Friday and in the Presidents Dining Room in the University Center on Saturday, will include a welcome by Dr. Lake Lambert, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and speeches and readings from Mercer professors. Those include Dr. Anna Weaver, associate professor of French; Dr. Beth Stewart, professor of art history; Dr. Jamie H. Cockfield, Willis B. Glover Professor of History; and Professor C. Ray Brewster, professor emeritus of Christianity. Other speakers include M. le Baron Maurice d'Argent, cousin of Volkoff and curator of the Volkoff Archive in France; Dr. Kurt D. Corriher, novelist and professor of drama at Catawba College in North Carolina; Mme. Lydwine Helly, French historian and co-editor of a book on Volkoff; and Michael D. Torre, associate professor of philosophy at the University of San Francisco.
A schedule of these events, which are free and open to the public, can be found at volkoff.mercer.edu. Reservations for Friday lunch can be made by emailing smith_cg@mercer.edu by Nov. 11.
In conjunction with the colloquium, Mercer Theatre will perform Volkoff's black comedy “Love Kills” at the Backdoor Theatre Nov. 14-16 at 7 p.m. each evening. General admission is $5. There will also be two exhibits of photos, posters and other various Volkoff memorabilia: one at Jack Tarver Library on Mercer's Macon campus from Oct. 1-Nov. 16; and another at Theatre Macon, 438 Cherry Street, from Oct. 14-27. The latter concludes with a reception and gallery talk by Dr. Dunaway on Oct. 27 at 3 p.m.
About Vladimir Volkoff
Vladimir Volkoff was born in Paris in 1932 to White Russian parents who had fled communism. He published several novels such as “The Turnaround”in 1979, “The Set-up” in 1982, and “The Moods of the Sea” in 1980. Volkoff also published essays, plays, biblical commentaries, biographies, translations, children's books and more. He lived in Georgia for 20 years, first in Decatur where he taught languages at Agnes Scott College, and then in Macon after he retired. Volkoff died on Sept. 14, 2005, in southwestern France.
