Takis Sinopoulos’s legacy: A house of poets and poetry
Beyond the power of the written word, the late poet Takis Sinopoulos’s legacy lives through a foundation which bears his name and is entirely dedicated to poetry and its peers. Based on two essential donations, namely the house in which the poet spent most of his life – a ground floor, 1920s refugee building in Nea Ionia – which was donated by his wife, Maria Sinopoulou, and his library, donated by Maria Sinopoulou together with the poet’s brother and sister, Pavlos Sinopoulos and Maria Georgiou Sinopoulou, the Takis Sinopoulos Modern Greek Poetry Education Center was established in 1995 by the Municipality of Nea Ionia. Following the house’s entire renovation, the foundation’s trustees opted for the center to acquire a certain educational role, as opposed to developing it into a museum. It is therefore in this spirit that the foundation – working closely with the Nea Ionia Municipality and the Ionikos Synthesmos Association – is unfolding its ambitious plan: to assess the role of poetry and poets through a series of events, such as lectures, discussions and readings. Scheduled to take place every second Wednesday, the events kicked off last night, with a lecture by Fotis Terzakis on Theories of Literature in the 20th Century: A Historical Outline. It will be followed by further lectures by Agori Grekou (November 21), Michalis Pierris (December 5), Stamatis Fillipidis (December 19 and April 10), Aris Berlis (January 9), Elena Koutrianou (January 30), Manolis Lambridis (February 27), Giorgos Sagriotis (March 13), Dimitris Dimiroulis (April 24) and again Terzakis (May 8). The lectures will be complemented by a series of poetry reading evenings beginning with Giorgis Pavlopoulos (January 16), Maria Kirtzaki (February 13), Vironas Leondaris (March 27) and again Fotis Terzakis (May 8). A round-table discussion on literary theories and criticism has been scheduled for May 22, with the participation of Pandelis Boukalas, Alexis Ziras, Tasoula Karageorgiou, Giorgos Moraris, Haris Vlavianos and Fotis Terzakis. All events take place at the Ionikos Synthesmos Hall, 1 Tsourouktsoglou and 251 Irakliou, in Nea Ionia. Furthermore, the Takis Sinopoulos Foundation wishes to attract the attention of the young, by establishing a Poetry Workshop aimed at bringing together students and teaching staff from schools in Nea Ionia and other municipalities. The workshop will be offering topics for discussion and presentations on topics such as the post-World War II and the 1970s generations, among others, while one of its principal aims is to prepare the ground for a revival of the art of reciting. The opening three sections, covering the period from the 11th century to 1821, are particularly strong in this regard, confidently setting Greek literature in a local and world context and delineating its development.
