Enigmatic and hybrid texts
The title of Maria Efstathiadi’s «Utopimata,» published in Greek by Kedros, comes from «utopia» and «atopima» (= blunder), two words that refer to the notion of the non-existent and chimeric on the one hand, and the inappropriate and incongruous on the other. The 10 texts in this book are just that: indeterminate types of compositions intent on sparking the imagination, allowing it to explore an almost infinite range of senses and emotions. Giving classical adventure its due in «The Travels of Baron Munchausen,» the author moves on to hybrid compositions, such as the prose rendition of a scene from a play, intertwined monologues of literary genres, short texts without punctuation, letters to a recipient who is somewhere in the beyond and open-ended stories. The prime example of the last type is a 17th century historical chronicle «The Stigma of the Rose,» of which we see merely the contents. These texts also foreground scholarly references to classical works, the inclusion in the written text of painterly color and musical sounds, surrealist images and even the gleam of the computer screen. On the book jacket, the texts are described as «open images with words, pieces of life, fantasy or narrative under the microscope; things that appear momentarily and immediately disappear again; things hidden in undertones and others that emerge blatantly.» This is by no means a new endeavor. Almost a century has gone by since the heroic days of the literary avant-garde. And yet, when modernism has been taken to its furthest point, and radical upheavals ad nauseam appear to belong to the past, we seem to be ready again to accept a new viewpoint. It is not that we want to live through the challenge of upheaval again, but to feel nostalgia for that long-gone time when the notion of sexual taboo invited us to break it, and all-powerful artistic conventions challenged us to smash them. These texts are like enigmas, inviting us to participate in decoding them; asking us to map out our own meaning, and weave our own emotional formulae into their fabric. They also seem to represent the revenge of imagination and feelings over the tyranny of completion – of narrative, plot and the fictional theme. And they are the manifestation of reliable good taste, a continuation of the consistent career that Maria Efstathiadi began 17 years ago with «Paravates» (Transgressors) in 1987, «To Aorato pou se Koita» (The Invisible that Watches You) in 1991 and «Gantia me Heria» (Gloves with Hands) in 1996.
