‘We had come to Kalymnos to seek a source, or a wonder, or a sign, to be reassured in our humanity.’
Charmian Clift arrived on Kalymnos with her husband, George Johnston and children Martin (aged seven) and Shane (five) on a stormy day in December 1954. Over the next nine months, Clift wrote her first solo book — the travel memoir Mermaid Singing — and discovered her unique voice. She also fell in love with Greece, and developed the foundations of her own philosophy of feminism — grounded in the vibrant matriarchal culture of the island. In June 2022, I went to Kalymnos to speak at the launch of the Greek translation of this book and to see if I could find Clift’s Kalymnos. (I did!)
Photos below show:
‘The yellow house on the waterfront’ where Charmian and the family lived; The book launch panel and audience (including the Australian Ambassador to Greece); and Charmian and George with Charmian’s dear friend and mentor, Sevasti Taktikou (1955).
