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Reading Greece
Reading Greece13 hours ago
POEM OF THE WEEK: "Heroic and Elegiac Song for the Lost Second Lieutenant of the Albanian Campaign" by Odysseas Elytis

"Heroic and Elegiac Song for the Lost Second Lieutenant of the Albanian Campaign" is a major poem by the Greek Nobel laureate Odysseas Elytis written during World War II. Based on his personal experiences fighting in the Albanian front, the poem is a powerful expression of both resistance and mourning for a fallen soldier, symbolizing the broader struggle for Greek liberty.

Elytis, known for his deep connection to the Greek landscape and spirit, crafts a work that is both a lament and a celebration of heroism, intertwining personal loss with national pride. The poem is suffused with a sense of mourning, but it also exudes a quiet dignity, honoring the sacrifice of the young lieutenant who fought in the harsh mountainous terrain of Albania.

The poem is also infused with a sense of timelessness, as Elytis draws on elements of ancient Greek mythology and history. The figure of the lost lieutenant is elevated to the status of a hero, akin to the warriors of ancient epics. This connection to the past serves to reinforce the idea that the lieutenant's sacrifice is part of a long tradition of Greek heroism, linking the modern struggle to the glories and tragedies of Greece's history.

The poem has become a defining text for his generation and a significant work in his oeuvre, known for its blend of surrealist imagery, realistic experience, and mythical allusions. It is a work that speaks to the universal experience of loss and the ways in which memory and sacrifice can shape a nation's identity.

Reading Greece
''Άσμα ηρωικό και πένθιμο για τον χαμένο ανθυπολοχαγό της Αλβανίας'' του Οδυσσέα Ελύτη (1941)
Με την έναρξη του πολέμου του 1940, ο Ελύτης κατατάχθηκε ως ανθυπολοχαγός στη Διοίκηση του Στρατηγείου του Α΄ Σώματος Στρατού. Στις 13 Δεκεμβρίου 1940 μετατέ...
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Reading Greece
Reading Greece4 days ago
📌 The first international edition of SOLOIKISMOS, an international interdisciplinary #poetry festival, will take place on 25–26 October 2025 in Elafotopos, Zagori, curated and produced by the artistic organisation Artivism.

Placing poetry at its core, the #festival seeks to weave together the traditional and the contemporary, the archetypal and the primordial with the postmodern. It also aims to create a safe, inclusive space for expression, cultivating a sense of community among diverse groups through shared artistic practice.

The inaugural edition of SOLOIKISMOS brings together: Yana Boukova, Alvina Chamberland, Sarah Ettlinger, Natalie Mariko, Vincent Moon, Irini Androulaki, Lena Gerothanassi, Alexandra K., Tasos Lagkis, Eva Papamargariti, Theodoros Panagopoulos, Lena Platonos, Melina Xenaki, Marios Chatziprokopiou, and representatives of the Zagori Ecomuseum.

📍For more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/764717896406514/
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Reading Greece
Reading Greece6 days ago
Reading Greece bids farewell to the great song-writer and composer Dionysis Savvopoulos, who passed away today at the age of 81.

When Dionysis Savvopoulos burst onto the Greek music scene in the early sixties, his highly original songs defied classification. There were no precedents in the music genres then common in Greece. He was initially seen as part of the ‘new wave’ group of composers and singers who emerged at that time and who were influenced by their French counterparts. But Savvopoulos created a genre all his own with his mix of modern and traditional rhythms and with his lyrics at times tender, at times playful and at times filled with biting social criticism.

Αs Dimitris Karambelas put it, “in his work, sound, meaning, singing, yet also narration and stage performance, constitute a compact and inseparable whole”.

Learn more about his work in Reading Greece's BOOK OF THE MONTH: The Rock Song of our Tomorrow – Dionysis Savvopoulos English Edition
https://www.greeknewsagenda.gr/book-of-the-month-the-rock-song-of-our-tomorrow-dionysis-savvopoulos-english-edition/
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