If there is one thing that is even greater than travel in my heart, that definitely is reading. My reasoning behind this is simple: books are free tickets to wonderful worlds. Reading can take you anywhere, anytime, for a fraction of the cost. What’s more, it opens your mind and your world and encourages you to dream, and why not, to dream big.
With this in mind, I introduce you to three modern Greek poets and writers who touched me with their words and managed through their writings not only to convey the Greek experience in depth but something much greater; to touch on the human experience that is common to us all. Today, I recommend works of theirs that have been translated by prominent academics into English and convey as closely as possible the original tone of verse.
So let’s begin!
Nikos Kavvadias
The ultimate Greek poet and writer of the seas – a true story teller before story-telling became a ‘thing’. Nikos Kavvadias was born in a small town in the Vladivostok region of Russia in 1910. His parents were from the Greek island of Kefalonia.
Inspired by the tales of Jules Verne, Kavvadias decided as a young lad to join the navy in 1928 and spent most of his life at sea. He wrote about his adventures and experiences for publications in Greece, as well as in letters to his family and friends. During the Katochi (the German–Italian occupation of Greece during World War II) he enlisted in the Resistance.
Like many writers and artists, Kavvadias’ talent came fully to light after his death. His writing is so vivid that you find yourself traveling angry seas at night, wandering through derelict port bars in exotic lands, watching drunken sailors fight, and experiencing the addictive loneliness of life at sea.
Kavvadias’ works are very difficult to translate as he masterfully creates his imagery using sailor argot and seafaring terminology.
► I suggest you start with “The Wireless Operator: Selected Poems of Nikos Kavvadias”
► and “The Collected Poems of Nikos Kavvadias” translated by Gail Holst Warhaft.
Like I said above, Kavvadias gained popularity after his death in 1975 largely thanks to Greek composer Thanos Mikroutsikos, who set his poems to music in a 1979 album titled “Stavros tou Notou” (The Southern Cross), that is today considered legendary and is highly sought after by collectors. I am very lucky to have this album in my collection and I suggest you add it to yours too.
♪ If you love music, I definitely suggest you get “Stavros tou Notou” This one is a collectors vinyl.
♪ This double CD is a live recording ”Stavros tou Notou – Grammes Orizonton”
♫ My favorite song off this album is the story of a towering negro ship stoker, who shoveled coal into the ship’s furnaces. His name was Willie and he was from Djibouti, and after his shift he would share his tales about strange lands and experiences. The song is performed by Greek rock artist Vassilis Papakonstantinou to the music of Thanos Mikroutsikos.
Odysseas Elytis
If I could describe the poetry of Odysseus Elytis in one word it would be “light”. The Greek who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979 is the poet who most accurately (if that’s possible in art) conveys the idealistic beauty of “Greekness”. He is also celebrated globally for his lyrical portrayal of love and beauty.
Elytis, also known by his pen name Odysseas Alepoudelis, was born on Crete in 1911 and is one of the most translated Greek writers.
Awarding Elytis with the Nobel Prize, the Swedish Academy said his poetry depicts “modern man’s struggle for freedom and creativity”.
Anyone who loves Greece and who loves life and beauty must definitely read at least one work by Elytis.
► For starters I recommend “Odysseus Elytis: Selected Poems 1940-1979”, with excellent translations by Edmund Keeley, Philip Sherrard, and George Savidis
► “The Sovereign Sun: Selected Poems by Odysseas Elytis”, translated by the great Kimon Friar.
► “Maria Nephele: A Poem in Two Voices” to the translation of Athan Anagnostopoulos.
► The non-worldly and timeless “The Oxopetra Elegies and West of Sorrow” translated by David Connolly.
► “Eros, Eros, Eros: Selected & Last Poems by Odysseas Elytis”, to the translation of Yale Younger Poets Award-winner Olga Broumas.
► Lastly, his epic “Axion Esti”, which embodies as an ideal, the true Greek spirit.
“Axion Esti”, which means “Worthy It Is”, is unique in that, through the genius of Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, Elytis’ verse expressed the Greek people during the most turbulent and defining moments of Greek history. You can still hear these words today resonating in calls for freedom, equality, and justice.
♪ It is therefore a must for those who enjoy Elytis to listen to “Axion Esti” put to music as an oratorio in 1964 by Mikis Theodorakis
and here a remaster version on Amazon Music.
♪ Elytis’ poetry also featured in Theodorakis’ “Mikres Kyklades” album released in 1962. Another collector’s piece.
♫ One of the most sung works off the album: “Tis Dikaiosynis Ilie Noite (Sun of Justice)” performed here by Grigoris Bithikotsis in 1977. Mikis Theodorakis wanted a singer who would be able to convey the depth and meaning of Elytis’ verse to the masses. And so it was.
Yannis Ritsos
One of Greece’s most celebrated poets: Yannis Ritsos was born in 1909 in Monemvasia in the Peloponnese. Ritsos’ verse embodied the unbreakable Greek spirit and gave voice to the ongoing struggle for liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
He was remarkably prolific throughout his lifetime. Even as he battled tuberculosis and endured years of exile and imprisonment for his political convictions, his pen never quieted. A committed Communist, Ritsos faced constant persecution, and many of his most powerful works were written in detention camps.
Nominated nine times for the Nobel Prize, Ritsos spoke to readers far beyond Greece’s borders. His poetry found its way into the hearts of people across the globe who struggled through resistance to achieve freedom and human dignity.
Ritsos’ verse brought to the surface the nuances of things we take for granted in life and love. But his poetry also spoke of resilience, loyalty, and the ideals that keep us human.
► You can start with “Yannis Ritsos: Repetitions, Testimonies, Parentheses” by Yannis Ritsos and Edmund Keeley
► “Yannis Ritsos: Selected Poems 1938-1988”, edited by Kimon Friar and Kostas Myrsiades
► My favorite” “Erotica” by Yannes Ritsos and Kimon Friar
As with the works of Kavvadias and Elytis, Ritsos’ poetry was also put to music. The prodigious Mikis Theodorakis set the poet’s works “Eighteen Little Songs for the Bitter Homeland” (1974), “Romiosyni” (1966), and “Epitaphios” (1964) to music.
♪ “Romiosyni”
♪ “Eighteen Little Songs for the Bitter Homeland”. This double CD is a must for music lovers.
♪ And remastered on Amazon music.
In 1960, Mikis Theodorakis set Yannis Ritsos’ epic poem “Epitaphios “to music, releasing it as an eight-track album that would become a landmark in the history of Greek political song as songs of freedom, peace and justice.
Featuring the legendary bouzouki soloist Manolis Hiotis and the iconic voice of Grigoris Bithikotsis, this revolutionary work helped spark a cultural revolution in Greece.
♫ I end today’s post with one of my favorite works off Epitaphios – “Mera Magiou Mou Misepses” (May Day You Called) with the great Grigoris Bithikotsis. This lament composed by Mikis Theodorakis to the poetry of Yannis Ritsos was inspired by violent uprising of smoke workers in Thessaloniki in 1936, which led to the deaths of 12 on May Day that year.
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