During the Corfu Literary Festival last September we had the opportunity to attend a speech in which dr. Lee (McGeorge) Durrell MBE shone her light on the famous trilogy her late husband Gerarld dedicated to the island and the family he grew up in. Of The Corfu Trilogy millions of copies were sold and it was translated in many languages. A television series based on the trilogy was aired in four seasons between 2016 and 2019. Geralds work and that of his brother Lawrence (Prospero’s Cell) most likely have inspired early stage tourism to the island more than anything else. Quite rightfully their busts in bronze adorn the Bosketto Garden.
At the end of the evening – in the Corfu Public Library in the Old Fortress – publisher Bernhard Mayr introduced my wife Hennie and me to Lee Durrell and her partner Colin Stevenson. Looking back at the picture above I realize once more how literature transcends all borders and boundaries. Colin, a Scottish pilot; Bernhard, a German publisher; Elena his wife, a Ukrainian photographer; Lee, an American born writer; myself, a Dutch writer. The photograph, taken by Hennie, a Dutch writer. Further more in the evening’s programme were the Greek author Danai Dragonea en American author Craig Pomranz. How cosmopolitan can an island get?
Corfu is my Island 
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