Letter from Thessaloniki

Poets of Greece, unite

By Spyros Payiatakis

Under the banner of today's World Poetry Day and also - in all probability - putting into practice the belief that poetry not only shapes individual identities but also serves some unidentifiable sort of public good, the State Theater of Northern Greece (KTHVE) yesterday presented an event on local poets. Under the direction of Nikos Naoumidis, students of the KTHVE drama school read the work of some of the younger generation of poets from Thessaloniki.

Under the successful coordination of one of Thessaloniki's central figures in poetry, Ms Roula Alavera, Sunday literary programs have been productively running for the last few months. Such programs «overcome rival ties, contradictions and the causes that may create them» Ms Alavera mentioned tellingly in her printed introduction. Surprisingly, Thessaloniki, a paradise for lowbrow commercialities, is also riddled with poetry factions.

The venue for these Balkanized wordsmiths, who present weekly enough material for a gaggle of actors onstage reading poetry according to the program, is the imposing building of the Society of Macedonian Studies, opposite the city's trademark building, the White Tower.

Listening - almost - every Sunday at noon to «thespians» bleating out more or less comprehensible lines is a steady, faithful audience of a few dozen people.

Yesterday, after a short inspired speech on «Positive and Negative Elements in Poetry» by Ioannina University Professor Costas Stergiopoulos (winner of last year's State Literature Prize) a dozen twenty-something hipsters, read - in alphabetical order - from the works of local writers.

Now, plainly statistically, it is almost inevitable that among the many cockeyed, yes, confused or banal ideas that come into poets' minds, there should be also some perspicacious ideas. And that was the case at yesterday's reading in Thessaloniki - which, by the way, had an atmosphere much like the spirit of the mid-70s. The confrontation between then and now contained l'esprit of high respectability.

For, as the poet says:

«And if you can't shape your life the way you want, / at least try as much as you can / not to degrade it / by too much contact with the world, / by too much activity and talk.»

(C.P. Cavafy, 1913. Translation by E. Keeley and P. Sherrard)

Now, Greeks have every right to be proud of the fact that they have produced some of the greatest modern poets.

Why? Sure there is reason for this, dummy. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, we have been able to have fine poetry in Greece because the public does not read it and consequently is not an influence on it.

It is not only the public that likes to insult poets because they are individual. But once they have insulted them, they leave them alone.

Take Dimitris Kouvelas, a prominent local New Democracy politician, who some years ago also served as the city's mayor. Kouvelas made headlines by calling poets «lapades» - something between a soft-belly and a jerk.

Yet Greece has already produced two Nobel Prize-winners in Literature.

Odysseas Elytis (the pen name of Odysseas Alepoudhelis) received it in 1979 «for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear-sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness.» He is my favourite.

I also like George Seferis, another Nobel Prize-winner in Literature.

Manolis Anagnostakis is great too. As is Kiki Dimoula, Nikos Karouzos, Miltos Sachtouris, Yiannis Ritsos and Andreas Embiricos. Sure Cavafy is the greatest of them all. However, since I am not as curious about high, middle and lowbrow as I once was, I admit that I am not the best judge. Nor do I like to read much anymore, with all those DVDs in the newspapers.

Still, for those who do, today at 7.30 p.m. some of Greece's leading scribes (I have heard of a quantity of between 50 and 60) will be heard at the Benaki Museum's new venue on 138 Pireos Street.

Should you be among the participants, you can either stick out the entire event or just duck in to graze until the refreshments are finally served.