Julia Older's verse drama, produced and directed by Kevin Gardner and syndicated on public radio, is based on the "life" of a 2500-year-old Greek vase unearthed by Alessandro François in 1844. The exquisite vase, signed "Ergotimus made me, Kleitias painted me," was reconstructed from 633 pieces and is now on display in the Archaeological Museum in Florence, Italy. Finely wrought figures of characters from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey decorate the vase. In a dramatic narrative story, twenty-five actors and singers on audio tape follow the ownership of this celebrated, real-life vase. The adventure takes listeners from the creators of the vase in Ceramicus, Greece, down through the ages. The vase survives a crossing of the Aegean Sea and Roman conquests before being smashed and buried in an Etruscan tomb. Brought to light by the unrelenting archaeological hunter Alessandro François, the vase is revived and reformed--and destroyed by a madman at the Archaeological Museum. Reassembled, the prized vase is destroyed a third time, and reassembled still again. After rescue from the catastrophic Florentine flood of 1966, finally, the François vase finds safety against the jinx that has stalked this matchless creation. Brenda Foley plays the vase: Here at my Center so cool and soundless no one can enter but the light which is boundless. It streams inside as into a well and helps me decide what stories to tell.
	TALES OF THE FRANCOIS VASE  Julia Older  $15.00 (45 mins.), audio tape  Appledore Books, 1999  ISBN 0962716286  Prompt shipment Order this book using PayPal: Click here to see both ways to order.