American Fugue

Alexis Stamatis has been hailed as one of the most gifted writers of his generation (Franoise Noiville, Le Monde) in both Greece and Europe. His work has not yet been published in America and thus has been mostly inacces sible to US readers. Amerikaniki Fouga (American Fugue), published in 2006, is Alexis Stamatis' most recent work. This novel continues to examine the basic themes that are persistent in all of Stamatis' works of fiction: an all-consuming past, the flight to escape one's personal demons, and, most importantly, the search for personal identity that is ultimately revealed only through what is unknown to the self. The treatment of these themes is also characteristic of the author's other novels-travel narrative on the surface, mystery or thriller with an existential dimension at another level, but ultimately a quest for self-discovery and personal redemption. American Fugue is one of the first books supported by the National Endowment for the Arts International Literature Awards program.

Alexis Stamatis (born 1960) is the author of fourteen books: eight novels and novellas as well as six collections of poetry. Stamatis received his education in Greece and the U.K., at the Greek National University (Mathematics), the National Technical University of Athens (Architecture), the Architectural Association School of Architecture (Graduate School) in London, and the Polytechnic of Central London. Diane Thiel is the author of six books of poetry, nonfiction and creative writing pedagogy. She has published hundreds of poems and prose pieces in numerous important publications such as Poetry, The Hudson Review, and Best American Poetry 1999, and her poetry, prose, and translations are re-printed in over 30 major anthologies.