Poetry Day brings out the bard in all
Two great Greek poets, Dionysis Solomos and Nikos Engonopoulos, are at the focus of World Poetry Day today. At the National War Museum, and within the context of a commemoration of the 150th anniversary since the death of Solomos, there will be discussions on his work, a performance of traditional Greek music and a screening of Nestoras Matsas’s documentary on the poet. The Engonopoulos tribute, organized by the National Book Center (EKEBI), will take place all over town, as EKEBI has collaborated with the Athens School of Fine Arts to create large colorful panels reproducing his poems and artwork which are to be displayed from today and for an entire month on and around public transport. At the Pireos Street annex of the Benaki Museum at 7 p.m. today, 40 Greek poets will read selections of their work which has been published in the ninth issue of the Dekata magazine, while there will also be lectures on Solomos, Engonopoulos, Nikos Kazantzakis, and Nikolaos Callas. In Thiseion, artist Constantinos Xenakis will unveil his newest work, PoetiCity, at the Herakleidon gallery at 7 p.m. Having designed the poster for the March edition of the English-language Insider magazine, the artist will be present at the opening to sign magazine covers. In Thessaloniki, poets will gather at the Endefktyrion venue for a reading of works inspired by or written by migrants, while in the capital’s Metaichmio club, everyone is invited to share their work with the public.
