Small Bird, Tell Me — 1994 ·

Stories of Greek Immigrants

By Helen Papanikolas

"In their ethnicity, their Greekness, they transcend culture, obliterate boundaries with specificity and power. Shocking in their simplicity and unpretentiousness, they speak to us directly, like the diary of a lost relative."

The Salt Lake Tribune

"She carries literary dexterity and grace to its ultimate...Being rooted in her people, she is able to probe deeply into their personal experiences and foibles, with compassion and understanding."

The Greek American

"Papanikolas is lovingly precise in her descriptions of clothing, hair styles, photographs, jewelry, food, furniture and decor. These images appear much like variegated stones at the bottom of a clear stream. They dazzle, define, and anchor."

The Deseret News — (Salt Lake City)

Helen Papanikolas has been honored frequently for her work in ethnic and labor history. Among her many publications are Toil and Rage in a New Land: The Greek Immigrants in Utah, Peoples of Utah (ed.), and her parents' own story of migration, Emily-George. With Small Bird, Tell Me, she joins a long and ancient tradition of Greek story-tellers whose art informs and enriches our lives.

---

Helen Papanikolas was the author of several books of fiction and non-fiction, most recently the novel The Time of the Little Black Bird, winner of the Utah Book Award for Fiction.