Book Review
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"Before the Silence"
Archival News Reports of the Christian Holocaust that Begs to be Remembered
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Authors
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- To Ήθος του Λογοτέχνη
24 grammata
“The Mountains Couldn’t Walk Away”
“The Mountains Couldn’t Walk Away” by Andrea Demetriou was recently launched at fortyfive downstairs by Tim Colebatch (Economics Editor, The Age), Christos Tsiolkas (Author, The Slap) Arnold Zable (Author, Jewels and Ashes)and Bill Papastergiadis president of the Greek community of Melbourne, as part of the Antipodes Festival 2010. The poetry collection reflects nostalgia and its consequences for a world which was eclipsed by the Turkish invasion in Cyprus. It is illustrated by colour photographs taken by the author and has been published by La Trobe University. Over 170 people from diverse cultural backgrounds attended the launch and warmly applauded the speakers and the musical performance of the poet. Continue reading
From Dusk to Dawn
At Diasporic Literature Spot, being a literary website, from time to time we receive books from established as well as aspiring writers. I would say that in most cases these books can be a hassle to read and an even bigger problem to write about. However there are those certain books, by certain emerging or inspiring and aspiring writers that we feel privileged to receive, to hold in our hand and to read deepest thoughts in creamy or white colour pages. These specific books are the reason why Diasporic Literature is in existence Continue reading
Hypatia’s Feud
The Ptolemies, like philosopher kings, endowed Alexandria, with the Royal Library and the Mouseion. They also supported gifted men and women bursting with curiosity and ambition to conduct research in the fields assigned to the nine Muses over three hundred years.
Ferdinand Gregorovius (1821–91) the renowned historian of that era documented the importance of the pioneering work undertaken in Alexandria. Continue reading
Ο τρόμος ως απλή μηχανή
«Είναι απλό: Δεν σε πεθαίνει ο τρόμος. / Ο τρόμος μόνο σε ξεγεννάει. / Βγάζει το φίδι απ’ την κοιλιά σου. / Ο μαιευτήρας σού χαμογελά, / Που ζεις μια τέτοια αιθέρια νύχτα / Είναι απλό: Ο τρόμος δεν σε ταπεινώνει. / Σε αίρει στο ύψος των περιστάσεων. / Απλώς πατάς πάνω στον εαυτό σου. / Ο τρόμος δεν επείγεται. Σε περιμένει. /Μπορείς, σκεπτόμενος, να διαφύγεις./ Απλώς δεν μπορείς να σκεφτείς./ Στον τρόμο ένα κι ένα κάνουν δύο./ Απλώς δεν βρίσκεις το πρώτο και το δεύτερο: / Τη στιγμή αυτή ο ένας σε ψάχνει / Κι ο δεύτερος του φανερώνει τη θέση σου. / Ο τρόμος προνοεί. Είναι ψύχραιμος. / Εξάλλου ξέρετε κι οι δυο τι θα αξιώσει. / Πίνει ακόμη μια γουλιά απ’ τον καφέ του / Κι απλώς σηκώνει τα μάτια του πάνω σου. / Είναι απλό: Η φωνή του αέρα, / Οι ψίθυροι οι σοφοί των ερειπίων, / Το κουρέλι από την υγρασία που απομένει / Σε κάποια σκιερή γωνιά του πυρετού, / Όλα γλιστράνε μέσα στο φρεάτιο. /Ο ήλιος βάζει το δάχτυλό του στο τζάμι / Και κάνεις τη βουτιά. Αυτό ήταν. Θα δεις τώρα / Σε όλη την απλότητά του τον τρόμο». Continue reading
Posted in Book review, Greek, Hellas, Κριτική βιβλίου, Λογοτεχνία, Σχόλιο
Tagged χρόνος, επάρκεια, μηχανή
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Opera Bufa
Opera Bufa is the latest collection of poetry from the Greek poet Manolis. A departure from his more serious poetry of the past, this collection toys with the ideas of Albert Camus and his concept of absurdism. The result is at times comic, poignant, and often striking in the truth revealed in illusions. Continue reading
Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas
Lucy Sussex gives public voice to the private thoughts, experiences and observations of selected nineteenth-century seafarers to the Australian colony. These seafarers kept a record of their voyage either as letters to loved ones left behind in England or in journal entries. The white glossy cover of Saltwater in the Ink, composed of a chair covered in red patterned fabric, a red quill, a laced decorated fan, pewter cup and barrel, is aesthetically appealing and invites exploration. Continue reading
The curse of being a hero
“74 υπό σκιάν”[1] “From Australia, the land down under, comes a fresh breeze of creativity and culture.” These are the words of an Athenian culture critic, Gerasimos Kazanas, President of the International Committee for Freedom. Mr. Kazanas, whose resume embraces a notable knowledge of the Cyprus problem, studied the book “74 ypo skian” (trans. 74 in the shade) and decided … Continue reading
Yannis Ritsos Poems
A careful hand is needed to translate the poems of Yannis Ritsos, and Manolis is the ideal poet to undertake such an enormous task. Born in Crete, Manolis’s youth was intermingled with the poetry of Ritsos. Once a young man moved by the Theodorakis version of Epitaphios, he’s now a successful poet in his own right who is still moved to tears hearing the refrains of those notes from half a century ago. Continue reading
