Artists 2010 – Between Calliope and Crisis

Jazra Khaleed

Jazra Khaleed (born 1979 in Grozny, Chechnya) is one of a new generation of Greek poets. He has lived in Greece since early childhood, writes exclusively in Greek and is bringing new cultural influences, ideas and rhythms into Greek verse.
His works are protests against the injustices in contemporary Greece, dealing with the difficult and desperate lives of migrants from Africa and the Middle and near East in the slums of Athens. His poems and translations – of, among others, Elfriede Jelinek, Ann Cotten and Keston Sutherland – also appear in various blogs and magazines.
Jazra & Balinese Beast: Fuck the Apocalypse
http://www.mediafire.com/?1e5cs1lwj8adx7h

Dimitra Kotoula

Dimitra Kotoula (b. 1974 in Komotini, Greece) lives in Athens, where she works as a research assistant at the Byzantine Museum. She studied archaeology and art history at the University of Ioannina and the Courtald Institute of Art in London. In 2006 she gained her doctorate with a thesis on Byzantine funeral chapel architecture.
Her first book of poetry, “Treis notes gia mia mousiki” (“Three Notes for a Melody”), appeared in 2004. Her lyrical voice is free of any sentimentality or aestheticism, and yet does not lack warmth and beauty. Her poems have been translated into English and French. She has translated from the English, among others, Louise Glück, Jorie Graham and Sharon Olds.
Kotoula's poetry and translations have appeared in various magazines and anthologies of modern Greek poetry.
Publications:
Treis notes gia mia mousiki, 2004.

Titos Patrikios

Titos Patrikios (b. 1928 in Athens, Greece) was a resistance fighter during the Second World War, escaping execution in 1944 by a hair's breadth. In 1954 he started his own magazine, in which he published literary criticism. During the military dictatorship he suffered political persecution, was forced to flee, and lived for several years in exile in Paris. After his return, he worked as a lawyer, sociologist and translator, including a leading position for the Institut Français in Athens.
"As long as memory lives in me, I will return," is how Patrikios describes working-out in his writing of his experiences of resistance, banishment and exile that have determined and marked his life and work. This committed political poet and sensitive explorer of the reality of everyday life and emotions combines in his poetry sharply-focussed critical observations with the dreams of someone who has suffered much but not lost courage.
Publications (a selection):
Spiegelbilder. Gedichte, Romiosini Verlag, Köln 1993.
Poems I, 1943-1953, Kedros, Athens 1998.
Poems II, 1953-1959, Kedros, Athens 1998.
Poems III, 1959-1973, Kedros, Athens 1998.
Unter dem Gewicht der Wörter – Griechische Lyrik der Gegenwart, Romiosini Verlag, Köln 1999.
Griechische Lyrik des 20. Jahrhunderts (anthology), Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2001.
Thalassa, Thalassa – Erzählungen und Gedichte vom Meer und seinen Anwohnern (anthology), Romiosini Verlag, Köln 2001.
Ungewisse Fahrt (anthology), Winkler Verlag, Bochum 2010.
Titos Patrikios at ZVAB

Yannis Stiggas

Yannis Stiggas (born 1977 in Athens, Greece) has published three collections of verse and his poems have also appeared in many magazines and anthologies. In 2007 he performed in the intothepill project in the Karaoke Poetry Bar in Athens. His poems impress with the power of their imagery and language. By opposing the internal and the external view, and abstract and sensual observations, his texts hover on the margins of perception.
Publications:
The Way to the Kiosk (Mikri Arktos 2012), Poetry collection with German translations: Edition Poesiefestival Berlin (hochroth Verlag 2010) (unfortunately out of print)