ΤΩΝ ΑΝΤΙΘΕΤΩΝ ΔΙΑΛΟΓΟΙ ΚΑΙ ΜΕ ΤΟΝ ΑΝΗΛΕΟ ΧΡΟΝΟ / DIALOGUES OF OPPOSITES AND WITH MERCILESS TIME
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Autor:
Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke
Country:
Greece (GR)
Book Theme:
Contemporary poets of your country
Publisher:
KASTANIOTIS
Publishing Year:
2018
Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke was born in Athens in 1939. She was the goddaughter and spiritual daughter of Nikos Kazantzakis, who was a friend of her father. At just 17 years old, she published her poem “Loneliness” in the magazine New Era. Articles on poetry and poetry translation have been published in magazines and newspapers. Her work has been translated into more than ten languages and her poems are included in literary anthologies. Cavafy’s poetry was her biggest inspiration. She studied foreign languages in Athens, France and Switzerland. She was a qualified translator-interpreter. She had translated, among others, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky, William Shakespeare and others. Her poetry is distinguished by a strong resort to imaginary countries.
National Award for Children’s and Young People’s
Abstract
In this poetic work, Anghelaki-Rooke engages in a dynamic “dialogue” between opposing concepts and with the relentlessness of time. The book is divided into two parts: the first explores six pairs of opposite forces (such as Poetry vs. Self-interest; Day-dream vs. Night-dream; Beauty vs. Ugliness) personified and conversing, as a way to reveal hidden layers of reality. The second part turns towards the merciless passage of time: the poet confronts sorrow, silence, survival, the loss of future, and of course death, all while searching for a persistent spark of life.
Underlying the work is the awareness that time exerts an absolute power, causing life to become more measured and perhaps more “everyday” in tone, yet the moment of breath, of awareness, offers a form of victory over time. (“Με την ανάσα μου νικώ το χρόνο, έστω και για μία στιγμή.”= “With my breath I defeat time, even if only for a moment..”)
Thus, the book becomes a meditation on identity, finitude and the interplay of contraries: a poetic confrontation with existence and the inevitable, offering solace in the acceptance of ephemeral beauty and passing moments.
