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.
ΣΑΝ ΚΑΤΟΙΚΟΙ ΣΕ ΧΩΡΑ ΑΚΑΤΟΙΚΗΤΗ
ἢ πίνοντας καφὲ μὲ τὸν Βλαδίμηρο καὶ τὴν Λίλη Μπρίκ
Τὸ πρωινὸ κάτω ἀπ' τοὺς φίκους σχεδίαζαν
μακραίνοντας τὴν ὥρα τοῦ καφὲ μὲ τοὺς λυγμοὺς τῶν γλάρων
ὥσπου ὁ Βλαδίμηρος κάθιδρος μίλησε γιὰ τὴν ἥττα
καὶ τὸ ἀντίδωρο: ἐσὺ μαῦρες τελεῖες βάζεις μονάχα στὰ ποιήματα,
μοῦ εἶπε, κι ἐκεῖνες μετρημένες…
Οἱ λέξεις του μοιάζαν στὸν κρόταφο σημάδια
ἔδειχναν μιὰν ἐγγύτητα, οἱ ἄλλοι τὸ εἶπαν ἐξοικείωση
μὲ ὅ,τι ποτὲ δὲν ἐπιστρέφει.
Καὶ τότε τὰ χέρια τους σὲ φλέβες τυλιγμένα ἀνασήκωσαν/
χάνονταν ἀνάμεσα στὰ φύλλα κι ὕστερα ἐπανέρχονταν
πληγώνονταν ἀπ' τὶς σιωπὲς
τῆς πρώιμης ἄνοιξης.
Τὸ ἐπεισόδιο ἔληξε, συνέχισε ὁ ποιητής,
μὴ φοβηθεῖτε αὐτὴ τὴ συντριβή, συμμεριστεῖτε την
τὴ βάρκα ποὺ τσακίστηκε στὰ ἄγονα νερά·
εἶχε ἀνέβει σὲ βουνὰ σὲ ὕψη δυσθεώρητα.
Δὲν τὴν τελειώνεις τὴ χαρὰ μὲ τὰ σημάδια, ἀντέτεινα.
Ὃσες φορὲς τόσες πληγὲς
σὲ χώρα ἀκατοίκητη ζωὴ εἶναι ὁ θρῆνος.
(από την συλλογή. Η ΣΥΜΜΙΓΗ, 2022)
AS RESIDENTS IN AN UNINHABITED COUNTRY
drinking coffee with Vladimir and Lily Brick
In the morning under the beacons they planned
prolonging the coffee hour with the sobbing of the seagulls
until Vladimir, full of sweat, spoke of defeat.
and the present in return: you put black dots only in poems,
he said to me, and even they are measured...
His words were like scars on the side of the head
they showed a closeness, others called it familiarity
with what never returns.
And then their hands, wrapped in veins, rose/
disappeared among the leaves and then came back
wounded by the silences
of the early spring.
The episode ended, the poet continued,
don't be afraid of this crush, empathize with it,
the boat that was crashed in unfertile waters;
it had climbed on mountains with unspeakable heights.
You don't end joy with the signs, I retorted.
As many times so there are wounds
in a land uninhabited life is grief.
Translated by Eva Sylla
ΕΜΜΑ Ή ΤΖΑΣΤΙΝ- ἡ ἱστορία εἶναι πάντα ἴδια
Χειμώνας μὲ ἄστατο καιρὸ καὶ μέρες κρύες.
Τὸ ἂν κλαδέψαν οἱ ἀμπελουργοὶ μᾶλλον μοῦ εἶναι ἀδιάφορο‒
χρόνια συνηθισμένος σὲ θυσίες.
Ἐκείνη, κάτω ἀπὸ τὸ ἀκροκέραμο φεγγάρι κοιτάζει τὰ χαρτιά…
κρατάει τὸ μῆλο
δαγκώνει τὴ σάρκα του, χαμογελᾶ καὶ κοκκινίζει.
Ἀφήνει τὴν πόλη στὴ βοὴ κι ὅ,τι ἀγάπησε.
Ματώνει τοὺς πυράκανθους, τὸ χιόνι
καὶ ὁ βοριὰς γοητεύει γηγενεῖς κι ἐποίκους.
….
«…μιλούσαμε θυμᾶσαι στὸν παράδεισο, ἀκούγοντας
τὸ ρίγος τῆς βροχῆς, ποὺ λέει ὁ λόγος, ἀφοῦ στὰ μάτια σου
ὡρίμαζε ὁ ἔρωτας.
Περιεργαζόμασταν τὰ θαύματα, τ' ἀγγίγματα καὶ τὶς σιωπὲς
«Ἀγάπη μου», εἶπες «εἶναι ἡ Ἐδὲμ αὐτὸς ὁ κῆπος;»
Πιὸ κάτω ἡ θάλασσα. Σοῦ ἔδειξα τὰ καράβια στὴν ἀχλή.
Ὑποχωροῦσε ἡ ἀβεβαιότητα κι ἐγὼ δὲν ἤξερα ἀπὸ τόση ἀγάπη.
«Ἐδέμ», ψιθύρισες «ἔχεις ξανάρθει;»
Τὰ μάτια σου κρατούσανε τοὺς θησαυροὺς
ἡ ἐπιθυμία δῶρο πολύτιμο.
Μοιράσαμε τότε τὸ νερὸ
μιλήσαμε δῆθεν στὰ ψέματα
τὶς ακριβές ἀλήθειες
ἑνώνοντας διακριτικὰ τὰ χέρια.
Ἱστορώντας τὰ καθέκαστα χτίζαμε τὴν ἀρχὴ
μιᾶς ἱστορίας καθόλου ἀσήμαντης…»
(από την συλλογή. Η ΣΥΜΜΙΓΗ, 2022)
EMMA OR JUSTIN - the story is always the same
Winter with miserable weather and cold days.
Whether the vineyard workers pruned is probably of no concern to me-
I've been used to sacrifices for years.
She, beneath the edge of the moon, looks at the cards...
holds the apple
bites its flesh, smiles and blushes.
She leaves the city to the roar and whatever she loved.
Bleeds the firecrackers, the snow
And the North is a charm to natives and settlers alike.
....
"...we were talking as you remember in heaven, listening
the shivering of the rain, so to speak, since in your eyes
love was ripening.
We looked around closely to the wonders, the touches and the silences
"Darling," you said, "is Eden this garden?"
Further down the sea. I showed you the ships in the mist.
The uncertainty receded and I knew not of so much love.
"Eden," you whispered, "have you been here before?"
Your eyes held the treasures
desire a precious gift.
We shared the water then
we spoke supposedly
about the precious truths
joining hands descriptively.
By telling the truth we built the beginning
of a story not at all insignificant..."
Translated by Eva Sylla
The Poet
Vangelis Tasiopoulos was born in Meligalas, Messinia. He studied Pedagogy, Special Education and Greek Culture. He has worked in special education schools. He published poems, essays, scientific articles, and books for children. His poems have been translated into English, Slavmacedonian, Italian, Spanish, Romanian and have been included in anthologies in Greece and abroad.
He is member of Hellenic Authors' Society and chairman of the Authors' Association of Thessaloniki.