Eleni Sikelianos

Charles Ruas's guest, California poet Eleni Sikelianos, discusses and reads excerpts from her latest works, including "The California Poem", a new millennium epic that traces the people and places of the Golden State through historical and geological time. Plus The Book of Jon, a portrait of her father; perceptions, understanding and memories of an adventurous, charismatic man who loved life and pursued his pleasure in total disregard of all conventions, ultimately descending into addiction and self destruction. Sikelianos says, "I am interested in the absolute ferocity of poetry, in our wild, eccentric human selves and animal and mineral planet, untainted by but interacting with socializing forces."

•