Titos Patrikios on life, poetry and politics
Titos Patrikios was in a candid mood at the Athens Concert Hall on Monday night during an evening dedicated to his contribution to Greek literature. The event was part of the Megaron Plus series. Given the necessary injections of humor, the celebrated Greek poet offered a lively account of his writing career so far, commanding the full attention of an audience that turned out in large numbers at the Nikos Skalkottas Hall. The poet was introduced by scholar and poet Nassos Vagenas, who noted that Patrikios was subject to a «multilayered traumatic political experience.» In his opening remarks, Vagenas underlined that while Patrikios came up with «the best poetry on the subject of exile ever written on an international scale,» he expresses the human condition in his political poetry. Vagenas also spoke about the erotic element in Patrikios’s work as well as his subtle sense of humor. Following Vagenas, Patrikios was also introduced by comparative literature specialist Giorgos Archimandritis. Patrikios spoke about reading at a young age and the decisive influence of poet Costas Karyotakis. «A poet who committed suicide in 1928, the year I was born,» said Patrikios. «I felt that there was some kind of bond between us. Later on, I became very fond of another suicide poet, [Vladimir] Mayakovski.» Naturally, Patrikios spoke about his commitment to the «revolutionary struggle.» «Fanaticism in those days had nothing to do with today’s fanaticism,» he noted. «These days it’s like a children’s playground. I was so passionate back then that I decided to stop writing poetry altogether, because I felt that it was petit-bourgeois nonsense. But I started writing again, in secret. I couldn’t even admit it to myself.» His return to poetry was largely influenced by his relationship with Yiannis Ritsos in detention on the island of Ai Strati. «’Poetry is your destiny,’ he said to me. His advice to me was to delete half of whatever I was writing. It was the kind of advice that neither of us followed as much as we should have.» Living in exile on Makronissos, said Patrikios, was «hell.» «I was happier when I left Makronissos for Ai Strati than Athens for Paris. That is not to say that conditions on Ai Strati were not harsh, but we had plenty of time for writing.» he said. Patrikios also referred to the frequent criticism that he has been subject to. «I came under attack,» he noted. «They claim that I changed camps, but no one ever talks about how much things have changed in the first place. I belong to a generation who thought that we could program history.» Asked by Archimandritis how he spends his time these days, the poet was crystal clear. «I’m doing exactly what I always have, trying to put words together. I want to make sure that I have enough time to say a few things. Not that mankind will suffer in case I don’t manage to say them, but I certainly will.»
