Reading
and Signing Event at ARUCAD in Girne
By
Heidi Trautmann
ARUCAD,
the new Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design, has opened the doors of
its new library for a very special event, by having Elsie Slonim, the legendary
centenarian who has lived in Cyprus over 70 years, an eye witness to history,
read from her new book ‘Ahead of Time – The first Century of my Life’. Only
some days before we have celebrated her 100 years completed, the first 100 years,
as she modestly said, and…. she could make it when you look at her, embrace her
with good wishes and see the light shining in her eyes. (See my text below).
She
was assisted by her editor and friend Dr.Jürgen Strasser who had come from Vienna
for the occasion and by Mustafa Ersenal who is planning to make a documentary
film of her life.
Elsie,
as she insisted that her name was, started the reading with dry wit and the
well-known charm of a Viennese…. she sees herself as a relic of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Her
life with all shades of two world wars, her journeys to flee them, packed with adventure
and incredible events, all that is what the new book is about, concentrating on
the most important events during those 100 years. I have met her several times
and have extensively written about our fascinating talks. Please read about it
in the following two links of five years ago.
In
the introduction of her newly published book she says something remarkable
about becoming old…. ‘When one reaches old age, one quite often observes that
one’s former understanding of and sympathy with the outside world have
undergone a radical change. Those things we once considered all important
become, with the passing of time, simply irrelevant. Even very intelligent
younger people place a great deal of importance on things which seem to us
almost trivial when measured against the history of humanity. This new
perspective is, I think, an attribute of becoming old.’
Her
Birthday:
The First Hundred
Years on November 21, 2017 – Elsie Slonim – A Monument in Cyprus
By
Heidi Trautmann
I
entered a desperate question into her birthday guestbook ‘Please Elsie let us
have the secret recipe which kept you so young and energetic’.
A
circle of close friends had organized a birthday party for her at the Goethe
Institute in Nicosia, had baked cakes and set up a buffet to celebrate the 100th
birthday of Elsie Slonim who is known for her books with the incredible story
of her life, including the time with her husband in Cyprus. Today she still lives
as the only non-military person in the buffer zone in Nicosia. We had visited
her for a delightful evening four years ago. Her book ‘Lemons from Paradise’
had just been published and I had met her for an interview for Cyprus Observer
and my website. Please click on the links below to find both, my interview and
our visit at her house.
http://www.heiditrautmann.com/category.aspx?CID=4118684436#.WhRvCVWWaUk
http://www.heiditrautmann.com/category.aspx?CID=1777363755#.WhRvLVWWaUk
She
has hardly changed since our last meeting and I knew from a close friend who
had done the editing of the English version of her new book that she had been
rewriting her life story and which was published recently in English and in
German
Ahead
of Time – The First Hundred Years
Vom Brot im Meer – Die ersten hundert Jahre
Publishing
House: Verlagshaus Hernals, Vienna
Books
can be ordered via Amazon.
A
small amount of copies will be available for sale …
On November 29 you can listen
to her reading from her books at the Goethe Institute at 19:00 hrs; an
interview is being organized by The Embassy of Austria in cooperation with the
Goethe Institut.
Also,
on November 28, she will be in Girne
at the ARUCAD University 16:00 – 18:00 hrs to sign copies of her new book, also
her older book ‘Mousie Longtail’.