“If language was just a means of communication, there wouldn’t be a problem. But it so happens that it represents a tool of enchantment and a bearer of moral values. Over the centuries, language takes on a particular ethos. And this ethos begets duties[…] It must not be forgotten that over a span of twenty-five centuries, there was not one century, I repeat not one, when poetry was not written in Greek”, writes Odysseas Elytis in his book ‘Carte Blanche’ in 1992.
The Hellenic American Union in Athens organized an event in collaboration with the Association “Hellenic Roots” in order to honor the Greek poet Odysseas Elytis, by reading an extract of ‘The Monogram’ of Odysseas Elytis first in the Greek language and then in English, Arabian, Bulgarian, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Russian and Swedish.
The event closed with a recorded version of the poem “Monogram”, in which Ioulita Iliopoulou and Mikis Theodorakis participate.
Participants:
Ioulita Iliopoulou – poet, reading in the Greek language
Sigrid Willer – reading in the German language
Ovidiu Palcu – reading in the Romanian language
Tatiana Deyeva – reading in the Russian language
Evi Tzavella – reading in the Swedish language
and the translators:
Jeffrey Carson – English, Roni Bou Saba – Arabian, Zdravka Michailova – Bulgarian, Beatrice Stellio-Connolly – French, Antigone Kazolea – German, Nina Angelidou – Spanish, Asako Shimura – Japanese, Paola Maria Minucci – Italian, Victor Ivanovici – Romanian, Irina Kovaleva –Russian, Ingemar Rhedin – Swedish
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