The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) will host a free seminar titled “Tasos Leivaditis: Poet of Revolutions and Sunsets” next week.
The talk about the Greek poet will be held by senior lecturer in philosophy Dr Nick Trakakis from the Australian Catholic University.
It will offer an overview of Livaditis’ life as well as an introduction to his most important works.
Trakakis has translated many works of the post-World War I poet including “The Blind Man with the Lamp”, “Violets for a Season”, “Autumn Manuscripts” (joint winner of the NSW Premier’s Translation Prize), and “Night Visitor”.
Leivaditis (1922-1988) is considered as one of the greatest poets of the first post-war generation.
Born and raised in Athens, he showed interest in poetry and politics from a young age.
It was his political ideas and his involvement in the National Liberation Front (EAM) during World War II that led to his arrest and imprisonment.
With the escalation of the civil war in June 1948, he was arrested and exiled to Moudros.
And from 1948 to 1952 he was exiled for his political beliefs to Lemnos, Ai Stratis, and Makronisos, along with other left-wing artists and intellectuals such as Yannis Ritsos, Aris Alexandrou, and Manos Katrakis.
He was released in late 1951 and went on to make his poetic debut, expressing the horror of war and longing for justice and peace.
In 1953 his poetry collection “It Blows at the Crossroads of the World” won the first poetry prize at the World Youth Festival in Warsaw.
Leivaditis would continue to create poetry while also working for newspaper ‘I Avgi’ as a poetry critic, speaking about friendship, love, relationships in general, and struggle.
When: Thursday May 30, 7pm
Where: Greek Centre, Mezzanine, 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Entry: Free
