PRESS RELEASE
5h “Patras World Poetry Festival”
“From Hippocrates to poetry therapy”
1 – 4/09/2022 PATRAS – ANCIENT OLYMPIA
Along with many other important international participations and a rich event programme, this year, the 5th “Patras World Poetry Festival” is going to be held between the 1 and 4 of September, in different cultural locations of Patras and not only.
After two years of online realization of the Festival, Patras is again glad to receive in person 65 important poets from 13 different countries, 20 among them, being poets from abroad. This year’s programme has in store many surprises for the participants and for the audience, with visits and poetry recitations in particular places and in alternative ways.
The subject area of PWPF2022 concerns the healing properties of art and especially of poetry and it is entitled “From Hippocrates to poetry therapy”, so the complete action programme was planned with the purpose of creating a back – to - back interaction of arts, poetry and psychology.
The events are going to take place in the mornings and in the evenings in different locations of Patras every time, such as the Epikentro Theatre, the Foundation of Hellenic Diaspora, Achaia Clauss Winery and the Villa of Kolla, while the last recitation is going to take place in Ancient Olympia through an all – day excursion of experiential character. The programme includes further guided tours, food and wine tasting and activities of cultural tourism, in order for the visitors to obtain the best possible experience from our land!
Ιmportant guests participate at the events, among them ambassadors of collaborating countries, internationally renowned academics, belletrists and representatives of entities.
Special moments of the Festival are the tribute to the poet Titos Patrikios, the Round Table with the subject “Healing through Poetry”, the visit at the “Foundation of Hellenic Diaspora” with its art exhibitions from important emigrant Greek artists and the set to music poetry event, entitled “Like a Shiver...”, which is going to take place at the Honorable Evening of the Festival.
All the events are open for the audience with FREE entrance.
At the same time. The Festival converses with visual arts and hosts two visual and one photographical project.
In passing of the collaboration of the contemporary art gallery “Cube Gallery” and Liana Zoza as a curator, with Patras World Poetry Festival, the art platform “Lagrange Points” was created.
The idea came up simultaneously with the proposition for the presentation of the two on going art projects “Open Studio” and “Invisible cities”, during the Festival and under the common title “L3 point”, at the same time with the desire for the continuation of the creative meetings of all forms of art.
Even if the term is a loan from the mechanics of celestial bodies, which discusses the rules of equilibrium and affinity of their relationship and coexistence, it also works with the same equilibrium at the coexistence of different art forms.
During the Festival, the photographer Peny Delta is going to create the portraits of the participant at the Festival poets and poetesses, which are going to be used at the archive of the Poetry Office and in the related publishing of the Festival.
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The World Patras Poetry Festival is organized by the “Poetry Office” of Patras and the CultureBook (Culturebook.gr), with the support of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Region of Western Greece, the Regional Union of Municipalities of Western Greece, the the University of Patras, the University of Western Macedonia, the Hellenic Open University, the Poetry Festival of Larnaka, the Embassy of Hungary, the Embassy of Czech Republic and the Athens Czech Center, the Embassy of Poland, the Greek Library of London, the World Poetry Movement, the Epikentro Theatre, the Cube Gallery and other entities. It is under the evaluation of Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism.
Patras World Poetry Festival forms one of the greatest literature institutions in Greece, the greatest of the Region, and has already stood out amongst the most estimable Festivals all over the world. Each year it receives important names of world literature and it offers an abundant programme of events, including poetry readings, presentations, meetings and cultural galas. Its vision is to promote the Greek literary creation globally and to popularize the capital of West Greece as a European literature center. Through its actions, it communicates with Chairs of Hellenic studies all over the world and it catalogues the recent poetry production.
*The organising of the Festival has a non-profitable character in every aspect and the participation of the people is costless.
CONCERT IDENTITY
POETRY SET TO MUSIC
“Like a Shiver...”
Like the way a note touches the word,
And oxygen life.
Music fights against verse, in a fight for love, man, society, existence, love, hate, passion and nature.
Participants:
Yorgos Georgiadis, Mandolin (evikoon melos)
Sani Peta, Mandolin (evikoon melos)
Yannis Anagnostopoulos, Guitar
Thomas Pallas, Guitar
Andreas Zafiropoulos, Piano
Themis Martekas, Percussion
Interpretation:
Hristos Konstantopoulos
Dora Mpeleri
Artistic curation
Yannis Anagnostopoulos
Orchestrations
Yannis Anagnostopoulos
Yorgos Georgiadis
PROGRAMME
5th PATRAS WORLD POETRY FESTIVAL
THURSDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2022
20.00 // Theatre Epikentro+
Welcome Drink
1st Cycle of Poetic Readings
Presentation L3 point: on going art projects “Open Studio” & amp “Invisible Cities”
Dinner for the participants
FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2022
11.00 // Theatre Epikentro
2nd Cycle of Poetic Readings
Round Table on the subject “The Healing Properties of Poetry”
Free Programme – Knowing the City
19.00 // Winery Achaia Clauss
Guided tour at the Winecastle
3rd Cycle of Poetic Readings
Dinner for the participants
SATURDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2022
11.00 // Foundation Greek Diaspora, Kastritsi
Guided Tour at the Exhibition of Greek artists of Diaspora
4th Cycle of Poetic Readings
Lunch for the participants
20.00 // Villa Kolla
Formal Ceremony
Greetings – speeches
5th Cycle of Poetic Readings
Honorable Evening for Titos Patrikios
Concert with Poetry set to Music “Like a Shiver...”
Official Reception at Achaia Clauss
SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2022
09.00-20.00 // Ancient Olympia
Excursion to Ancient Olympia
Guided Tour at the archaeological site
Visit of the Digital Museum 1821 – Krestena
15.00 // Lunch for the Participants
17.30 // 6th Cycle of Poetic Readings
The programme also includes:
- Tribute “meet the poets” from Culturebook.gr: presentation of the participants and diffusion in social networks
- Anthology of the Festival. Offspring of the organization and a literature consignment constitutes the collective trilingual Edition (and e- book) with the poems of the participants, in each one’s language, in Greek and in English.
- Art Platform | Lagrange Points / simultaneously with the presentation of the participants at the Culturebook.gr the art platform Lagrange Points is created
- Peny Delta poet portaits / During the Festival, the photographer Peny Delta is going to create the portraits of the participant poets and poetesses, which are also going to be used at the relevant publication of the Festival
PARTICIPANTS
ALBANIA Alma Braja
BULGARY Roman Kissiov, Nadya Radulova
ITALY Matthias Tarantino
CZECH REPUBLIC Josef Hrdlička, Jan Škrob, Tim Postovit
CROATIAN Marija Dejanović
CYPRUS Eleni Artemiou-Fotiadou
HUNGARY Weiner Sennyei Tibor, Izsó Zita, Bek Timur
NORTH MACEDONIA Michailo Svidersky, Andrej Al Asadi, Gjoko Zdraveski
POLAND Anna Adamowicz, Antonina Tosiek
SERBIA Ana Marija Grbić
SLOVENIA Petra Kolmancic
USA Don Schofield
GREECE
Kyriaki-Koula Adaloglou, Giannis Alexandropoulos, Popi Aroniada, Anna Afentoulidou, Spyros L. Vrettos, Thanos Gogos, Yiannis Doukas, Lena Kallergi,, Dimitris Kalokiris , Kostas Kanavouris, Menelaos Karalis, Christos Katroutsos, Nikos Katsalidas, Giorgos Kozias,, Alexandros Kordas, Elsa Korneti, Dimitris Kosmopoulos, Giorgos Koutouvelas, Chloe Koutsoumpeli, Kostas A. Kremmydas, Triantafyllos H. Kotopoulos, Vasilis Ladas, Konstantinos Ch. Loukopoulos, Alexandra Bakonika, Theocharis Bikiropoulos, Konstantinos Bouras, Vasilis Pandis, Theofanis Papageorgiou, Sotirios Pastakas, Titos Patrikios, Aggeliki Pechlivani, Eleni Sigalou, Angeliki Sidira Papakosta, Antonis D. Skiathas, Yannis Stefanakis, Manos Stefanidis, Vangelis Tasiopoulos, John Tolias, Lina Fitili, Thanassis Hatzopoulos
Statement of Antonis Skiathas (President of the Poetry Office)
The Patras World Poetry Festival has created an international institution of literature that honors Greek letters, promotes Greek poetry and brings in contact Greek poets and poetesses with related poets and poetesses from all over the world.
Along its way, poets and poetesses from fifty countries have conversed at the Patras World Poetry Festival.
It is extremely important for all of us at the Poetry Office that the Festival is a matter of the whole town, as panhellenic, regional, local, institutions, businesses, citizens stand for the organising by every means.
The Ministry of Culture, the Region of Western Greece and the University of Patras are some of the institutions that support it.
The publishing that is been organized and the events at emblematic locations of the wider area like Achaia Clauss, the museum Diaspora, form the Festival’s identity.
At the same time, the synergism with cultural institutions and the connection of Poetry with other arts like music, visual arts, photography create all things that make the Festival unique.
H Ε Π Ι Κ Λ Η Σ Η Τ Ο Υ Κ Υ Α Ν Ο Υ Κ Υ Ν Ο Σ
(ΣΠΟΥΔΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΙΝΓΚΕΜΠΟΡΓΚ ΜΠΑΧΜΑΝ)
~ στον Π.Χ. για το «Έπος του Λουκά» - τη νίκη των Γαλάζιων Φιδιών.
Κυανέ κύον, βγες από τη γη, φύλακα του Ασκληπιείου,
διώκτη του ιερόσυλου με τα αρχαία μάτια,
μάτια επιστήμονα,
μέσα από τα έγκατα της γης αναρριχώνται με την οσμή του πετρελαίου
τα νύχια σου με τα στεφάνια,
νύχια στεφανωμένα με ελιά και δάφνη,
σαράντα τέσσερα χρόνια τώρα επαγρυπνάς
στον τάφο του παλατιού στο Μπένρατ , τεντωμένα, σε επιφυλακή
τα απαλά σου αφτιά και η κατάλευκη
οδοντοστοιχία, η επικαλυμμένη με πλαστική μασέλα,
γέρον κύον.
Καθαρή τεχνολογία: ο κόσμος σας.
Εσείς: οι ημιμαθείς πάνω του.
Εγώ σάς κουβαλώ στου κυνός μου τη ράχη, σάς καθοδηγώ
από την φραγή των αεραγωγών εν αρχή
στην καισαρική τομή εν τέλει,
σάς ακροάζομαι, σάς χειρουργώ,
σάς κόβω τον λώρο με του κυνός μου τις πατούσες.
Ὁ δέ κύων ἀναστρέψας προηγεῖτο γαῦρος καί περιχαρής (…)!
Ψηφίστε τη δημόσια σίτισή του και αναθέστε
στους ιερείς την εφ' όρου ζωής επιμέλειά του
τη φιλανθρωπία των παλαιών Αθηναίων μιμούμενοι.
Και καθιερώστε για εκείνον ό,τι ίσχυε για τους ηλικιωμένους αθλητές.
θα μπορούσε αυτός ο κύων
να αποτινάξει τα δεσμά του, να πετάξει το κολάρο με το ηλεκτροσόκ
και να ξεσκίσει όλα τα βδελύγματα, που την τέχνη του
απομύζησαν σα βδέλλες, την κυανή ιατρική του,
όπου Ge-Stell, αρχαιότητα και Machine Gun συνδιαλέγονται.
THE INVOCATION OF THE BLUE DOG
(A STUDY ON INGEBORG BACHMANN)
~ to P.C. for the "Epos of Lukas" – the victory of the Blue Snakes.
Blue dog, come out of the earth, guardian of the Asclepieion,
persecutor of the sacrilegious with the ancient eyes,
the eyes of a scientist,
through the depths of the earth, they are climbing with the smell of oil
your claws with the wreaths,
claws garlanded with olive and laurel,
for forty-four years now you are watchful
on the palace grave in Benrath, upturned and alert
are your soft ears and the pure white
teeth, covered with plastic dentures,
old dog.
Pure technology: your world.
You: the sciolists on it.
I carry you on my dog's back, guide you
from the blockage of the air vents in the beginning
to the caesarean section at the end,
I listen to your heart, operate on you,
cut the umbilical cord with my dog's paws.
On the return the dog led the procession, capering and exultant (…)!
Vote for his public feeding and entrust
to the priests his care for life
emulating the philanthropy of old Athenians.
And establish for him what was in place for old athletes.
Perhaps this dog
will shake off his bonds, throw away the shock collar
and tear apart all abominations, who sucked his art
like leeches, his blue medicine,
where Ge-Stell, the antiquity and Machine Gun converse with each other.
TRANSLATION INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: MS ATHANASIA MARGONI
Π Α Ρ Α Τ Α Σ Η Χ Ρ Ο Ν Ο Υ 2 0 2 0
(ΣΠΟΥΔΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΙΝΓΚΕΜΠΟΡΓΚ ΜΠΑΧΜΑΝ)
~ στον Π.Χ. για το ταξίδι με την «Τέχνη της Καθέτου».
Εγκλεισμός πέμπτος. Φίλη μου η μοναχικότητα.
Φίλος της εγώ. Χρόνια τώρα.
Τρομαχτικοί ιοί οι άνθρωποι.
Τα προσωπικά τους δράματα.
Η αμετροεπής τους απληστία.
Η υπερφίαλή τους φύση.
Ιδίως, σαν δε βρήκαν - στα χρόνια που όφειλαν -
τον μείζονα και τον ελάσσονά της τόνο.
Σταχτοπούτες που δεν ένιωσαν ποτέ να τους
ταιριάζει το γοβάκι.
ΕΦΑΡΜΟΓΗ ΝΕΩΝ ΜΕΤΡΩΝ: μεσάνυχτα πρέπει να 'μαι σπίτι.
Τη χαραυγή η κυρία Ανθούσα με βλέπει
να ανεβαίνω
στο λευκό αρσενικό πουλάρι και νιώθει δική της
την καρδιά μου, που σκιρτά,
καθώς συναντά τη ζεστασιά
του τρυφερού του τριχώματος.
Πιο πριν εκείνη το έχει σελώσει.
Κλείνει τα χαλινάρια στις χούφτες μου,
τα γαλάζια της χείλη αφήνουν αποτύπωμα
στα μέτωπά μας.
Με το βλέμμα του Ιωάννη
καλπάζουμε προς τον αεροδιάδρομο – όχι προς
την κατεύθυνση του ουρανού –
στίγμα μας ο Αυγερινός,
για να φτάσουμε
εκεί, όπου ο Αρχάγγελος τεμάχισε
σε αμέτρητα κομμάτια
την καρδιά του και τη μοίρασε
στους ανθρώπους.
Στην μπάλα από σύννεφα -
που πετάγεται ξαφνικά –
ζωγραφισμένη από τα γαλάζια του ακροδάχτυλα.
ΜΕΤΑΚΙΝΗΣΗ ΣΤΟΝ ΧΩΡΟ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑΣ: απαιτείται Βεβαίωση Εργοδότη.
Ο δικός μου Παύλος δεν αρκείται στο Αφτί.
Υπηρετεί το Μάτι.
Γι' αυτό δεν ψιθυρίζει. Μιλάει και γράφει.
Μειλίχια επαφίεται στην όραση και των δύο μας.
Ταπεινά μού διηγείται, στην τρισδιάστατή μου μορφή,
έννοιες στις δύο γλώσσες μου
από εποχές ξένες.
Με σεμνότητα μού υπαγορεύει
κοσμητικά επίθετα με άλφα στερητικό:
άτρωτη, αλώβητη, απτόητη, αήττητη.
ΜΕΤΑΚΙΝΗΣΗ 5: Μετάβαση σε τελετή κηδείας/ (δη;) μετάβαση διαζευγμένων ή εν διαστάσει γονιών για επικοινωνία γονέων και τέκνων.(;)
Γνωρίζει πως υποκλίνομαι στα Μάτια
και στο Αφτί:
omnia vincit veritas, omnia vincit ars.
Αντιμέτωποι με τον όλεθρο
καταδυόμαστε καθοδικά:
εκείνος ξαγρυπνά δαμάζοντας
το Βασίλειο του Ύπνου.
Εγώ, ντυμένη Γαλάζια Φίδια,
τα μαύρα φίδια εξολοθρεύω.
Στους βυθούς (μας) περιηγούμαστε μαζί:
με λόγο να ρέει από το κάθε μας δάχτυλο –
- «Ἐνεστῶτας ὄχι Μέλλων!»
- «Υποθετικός Λόγος, Υποτακτική!»
Αφήνουμε πίσω μας τον θηλυκό, σεληνιακό χρόνο.
Οι καφέ σημαίες χαμηλώνουν.
Με τους λίθους χτίζονται τα κάστρα μας.
Οχυρώνονται από την πλημμυρίδα.
ΜΕΤΑΚΙΝΗΣΗ 6: Κίνηση με κατοικίδιο ζώο ανά δύο άτομα.
Πιέζω το κουμπί. Εξουδετερώνω τον συναγερμό.
Φοράμε τη ζώνη. Με τον ιπτάμενο,
λευκό μου Ιάπωνα,
τη δική μου Ντόρα Μάαρ (2021),
οδηγημένοι προς τον αρσενικό, ηλιακό χρόνο,
κατακτάμε τις σφαίρες.
MORTGAGED TIME 2020
(A STUDY ON INGEBORG BACHMANN)
~ to P.C. for the journey by the «Art of the Vertical Line».
Confinement number five. Loneliness is my friend.
And I hers. For years now.
Humans are such scary viruses.
Their personal dramas.
Their immoderate greed.
Their arrogant nature.
Especially when they haven't found —in the years allotted—
her major and minor tone.
Cinderellas who have never felt
the glass slipper fit.
IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW MEASURES: I have to be home by midnight.
At dawn Ms Anthousa sees me
climb on
the male white foal and feels as though it's hers
my heart, that skips a beat,
as it meets the warmth
of the tender fur.
Earlier, she had saddled it.
She puts the reins in my hands,
her blue lips leave a mark
on our foreheads.
With the gaze of John
we canter towards the runway —not
towards the sky—
our guide is the Morning Star,
to reach
there, where the Archangel has cut up
his heart in countless pieces
and handed them
to the humans.
In the ball of clouds
that suddenly appears —
painted from his cerulean fingertips.
COMMUTING TO THE WORKPLACE: Employment certificate needed.
My Paul does not content himself with the Ear.
He servers the Eye.
This is why he doesn't whisper. He talks and writes.
He meekly relies on both our vision.
He humbly narrates, in my three-dimensional form,
concepts in both my languages
from times foreign.
He modestly dictates to me
qualitative adjectives with privative prefixes:
unassailable, unscathed, undeterred, undefeated.
MOVEMENT 5: Travelling to a funeral/ (which means?) Travelling of divorced or separated parents for the communication of parents and children.(?)
He knows that I bow to the Eyes
and the Ear:
omnia vincit veritas, omnia vincit ars.
Faced with ruination
we sink downwards:
he stays awake taming
the Kingdom of Sleep.
I, dressed in Blue Snakes,
exterminate the black snakes.
In the deeps (of ours) we tour together:
with speech flowing from our every finger —
— "Present not Future!"
— "Conditional Tenses, Subjunctive!"
We leave behind us the female, lunar time.
The brown flags are lowered.
Our castles are built with the stones.
They are fortified against the flood.
MOVEMENT 6: Walking with a pet, two people at a time.
I press the button. I neutralise the alarm.
We wear our seatbelts. With my flying,
white Japanese,
my own Dora Maar (2021),
led to the male, solar time,
we conquer the spheres.
TRANSLATION INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: MS ATHANASIA MARGONI
The Poetess
Poet, author and translator Christina Panagiota Grammatikopoulou possesses a Bachelors' Degree in German Literature (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki/Greece), a Masters' Degree in European Studies (RWTH- Aachen/Germany) and a Masters' Degree in Creative Writing (University of Western Macedonia, Florina/Greece). She works at the Centre for the Greek Language in Thessaloniki/ Greece. In 2021 she was nominated for the Hellenic Republic's State Literature Prize in Translation (for editions published in 2019) for the book Thomas Bernhard, The complete works of poetry, by Vakxikon Publications, Athens/ Greece.
Published books:
1. Persona Gramma, Vakxikon poetry/Greek Poetry, Vakxikon Publications, Athens, May 2017.
2. Man 's lunar look, Vakxikon prose/Greek Literature, Vakxikon Publications, Athens, November 2018.
Some of her translations from German into Greek are:
1. Thomas Bernhard, The complete works of poetry, Vakxikon Publications, Athens, November 2019.
2. Ingeborg Bachmann, The complete works of poetry, Vakxikon Publications, Athens, June 2020.