Selection: Michalis Katsigeras

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE: (From an article by Linos Politis) It is consoling to know how much interest has been shown in Europe and America, particularly since the war, in modern Greek literature and affairs in general. The prominent role played by our little country in modern European history, particularly in 1940 and the nation’s subsequent resistance to foreign occupation, is perhaps one of the reasons for that interest, but the other is undoubtedly the value of our literature. There has been an increase in demand for translations of the poems of Angelos Sikelianos, George Seferis, Odysseas Elytis, the novels of Nikos Kazantzakis, Stratis Myrivilis and so many others, as well as the writings of Solomos, and Erotokritos, which are now the subject of study and criticism by philologists and writers. MONEMVASIA: (From “An Athenian’s Notes”) A friend who visited Monemvasia over Easter has told me that there is nothing left of its former glory. There is nothing new in that – many other Greek towns that once flourished are now little villages. During the reign of the Palaiologos dynasty, the town had 8,000 houses and 40 churches, some of which still stand as witnesses to its former glory.