lost

this photograph was presented during "lookout" [athens, september 2003]. it was projected on the wall of a block of flats near the junction of kallirois ave. and vouliagmenis ave..

utop[oe]ia

this piece -a composite of two photographs- was presented at the "capturing utopia" group show ['fournos', athens, september 2005].

seamus heaney: 4 poems

[greek translations of four poems by seamus heaney, originally published in 'anti' magazine in 1995 -the week following the announecement of his award of the nobel prize- and 1997 - following one of his visits in athens.]

andrew motion, 'independence'

[greek translation of andrew motion's 'independence', originally published in 'poiesi' poetry journal.]

spring's treefellers

I like you because I don't know where I’ll find you

Always half in the light
the other half in the dark
–hesitating between
beauty and wonder
between yourself and your true face–
waiting for me to fall
to finally choose
the side that you also already know
but will only tread together with me

*

Darkness now gathers
around us love thickens
it won't be long before
thin bashfulness slips off you

*

Going back to your place at midnight
a young mother, dizzy
still drinking – face bruised
child in her arms
kept picking up his teddy-bear
from the filthy train floor
you said My mum would never do this

After we got there, I stroked you into sleep

Then with your body
spooned around mine
I was trying to fit in your slumber's embrace

Going home the next day
I saw in the street
spring's tree-fellers

*

Few hours later I'm already losing your face
I try to keep hold of likenesses
– the picture escapes me

Sometimes I manage
to assemble your smile
on the armchair's red cloth
Then I'm struck by two lines
descending bitter to the mouth
and then I think I've found you
on magazine pages
– staring over the shoulder
with a blue heart tattoo

And I ask when you hug me again
if you can recall me – you turn with that face
half in light and you smile
Ask me again when it's dark



[The english version is my own; the original greek was first published in 'Poiesi' literary review (v.13, Spring-Summer 1999), and is included in To Sosivio [The Lifesaver] (Kastaniotis Editions, 2008)]

so far

Panayotis Ioannidis was born in 1967 in Athens, where he now lives. He works with words and images.


_ words _

He has published four books of poems with Kastaniotis Editions, To sosivio [The lifesaver, 2008] Akalyptos [Uncovered, 2013], Polonia [2016; shortlisted for both the State Literary Prize and the "Anagnostis" Prize], Rinokeros [Rhinoceros, 2020]. He is also one of the authors of the essay books, A conversation about poetry now (FRMK, 2018) and What art teaches us (FRMK, 2020).

His poems have been included in two English-language anthologies (T. Chiotis, Futures - Poetry of the Greek crisis, Penned in the Margins, 2015 / K. Van Dyck, Austerity Measures, Penguin, 2016 & New York Review Books, 2017), two German anthologies (Wassiliki Knithaki & Adrian Kasnitz (eds.), Kleine Tiere zum Schlachten, Parasiten Presse, 2017; Maria Topali, Dichtung mit Biss, Edition Romiosini, 2018), and in the book "NICE - Is return possible?" (Lo&Behold, 2016).

Apart from several Greek journals since 1996, his poems have also been published in English-language journals ("Filling Station" 21, 2001 / "Drunken Boat" 19, 2014; "Hotel Amerika" 13, 2015; "Poetry London" 82, 2015; "Hotel Amerika" 14 , 2016), as well as in Croatian ("Tema", Spring 2020), Polish ("Lirydram" 16, 2017), Swedish ("Subaltern" 2-3, 2014 / Medelhavsmuseet, 2016), and Turkish ("Bireylikler" 29, Nov. 2009). They were presented during the "16 Young Greek Poets" readings, organised by the theatre company "Praxi" in spring 1997; received 2nd prize at the "1st Meeting of Young Artists (Vakalo Art School)" in spring 1998; and were presented at the "Umeå Littfest" international literary festival (Sweden, 2014); and elsewhere.

Apart from this blog, some of his poems in English translation may be found on the Greek Poetry Now platform, and on Poets.Gr.

He has translated poems by Rene Char ("FRMK" 16, Winter 2020/ Autumn 2021), William Carlos Williams ("FRMK" 7, Spring-Summer 2016 / "FRMK" 16, Winter 2020/ Autumn 2021), Elizabeth Bishop ("The Books' Journal" 65, April 1016), Robert Duncan ("FRMK" 7, Spring-Summer 2016; "The Books' Journal" 75, March 2017), Marianne Moore ("The Books' Journal" 85, Mar. 2018), Ezra Pound ("The Books' Journal" 96, Mar. 2019), Seamus Heaney ("anti" b 588, 13 October 1995; "anti" b 635, 23 May 1997), Robert Creeley ("Poeisi" 18, Autumn-Winter 2001), Thom Gunn ("Poeisi" 12, Autumn-Winter 1998; "Entefktirio" 86, July-Sept. 2009; "FRMK" 7, Spring-Summer 2016), Andrew Motion ("Poiesi" 9, Spring-Summer 1997), Jane Hirshfield ("TA NEA", 18 April 2020), David Harsent ("FRMK" 4, Autumn-Winter 2014), Elaine Feinstein, Fiona Sampson and Michael Symmons Roberts ("Poiitiki" 10, Autumn-Winter 2012) - as well as poetic texts by visual artists Louise Bourgeois and Roni Horn ("FRMK" 10, Autumn-Winter 2017).

Since 2011, he has been curating the series of monthly poetry readings, "Words (can) do it", where Greek poets of different generations read their own poems, or foreign-language poetry is read in the original and its Greek translation.

He is poetry editor for the monthly "The books' journal" from August 2013 and for "Und.Poetry" from its inception, in January 2019. In addition, since its 1st issue (May 2013), he is on the editorial board of the journal "for the investigation of the poetic phenomenon", "Farmako", where he also reviews poetry books. 

At the 28th Greek Poetry Symposium (Patras, 2008), he co-authored with Theodossios Tassios the presentation "Poetry and image", whilst at the 31st (Patras, 2011) he gave the presentation "When is poetry (not) in crisis?" In June 2013, he took part, together with another six Greek and seven American poets, in the poetic 'blind date', "Set out to Ithaca", within the "Return to Ithaca 2013" festival.

Since February 2013, he has been coordinating a poetry-writing group for adults at the British Council (Athens). From 2013 to 2018, he taught in the Cavafy Archive's / Onassis Foundation educational programmes for secondary schools, using innnovative approaches (e.g. theatre performance, hip-hop, comics, photography) to Cavafy's poetry.

During 1994-1997, he collaborated with 'anti' cultural and political weekly magazine, where he kept a column, "The wild and the tame", and was guest-editor for issues partly devoted to the essayist and poet Zissimos Lorentzatos and the short story writer Helias C. Papadimitrakopoulos. Since then, articles and interviews by him have appeared in "Athens Voice" (2019), "Αno Teleia" (2017), "Ta Nea" (2017), "Efimerida ton Syntakton" (2017), "Kathimerini" (2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018), "Lifo" (2008/i, 2008/ii), and 'tranzistor' (2005).


_ words + images _

During November 2007 - January 2008, a specially written poem of his accompanied -as a photocopied photograph of the manuscript- painter Eleni Theofilaktou's exhibition, "Darling I'm clearing up" (tint gallery, Thessaloniki), whilst a commissioned poem accompanied Efi Panagoula's photograph for 15 March 2010 in the Greek language web diary, "365 friends". During the 2nd Athens Biennale / 'Heaven', he took part in 'Poetica Residenza Arcadia' (June 2009).

In December 2006, during "blind date #12" (Industrial space, Keiriadon & Sfittion St., Athens) -a collaboration, in pairs, of visual artists and writers, for which latter group he was also the coordinator- he presented with visual artist Maria Konti the installation llel/lir/lyr. In March 2011, during the group show "Icono-poeisis" (M. Cacoyannis Foundation, Athens), he presented the installation Les Mains d' Hypnos, on poetry by Rene Char that he had translated.


_ images _


. Books_ Salon de Vortex (ed), "NICE - Is return possible?" (Lo & Behold, 2016) / Ianna Andreadis (ed.), "ΑΘΗΝΑ ΘΕΑ - Παράθυρα στην πόλη" (Agra, 2016)

. Shows _ «Lookout» (Athens, Sept. 2003) / «Capturing utopia» ("Fournos", Athens, Sept. 2005) / "Autonomous Photography" ("Fotagogos", Athens, 2015) / "Fenêtres sur Athènes / ΑΘΗΝΑ ΘΕΑ" (Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Paris, 2015-16) / "ΑΘΗΝΑ ΘΕΑ" (Benaki Museum, Athens, 2016-17)

. Printed media _ 'Eleftherotypia' Greek daily (26.ii.2011) / 'Athens News' English-language Greek daily (13.iii.2011 + 16.v.2011) / 'FRMK' (issue 2, Autumn-Winter 2013)

. Web media _ come into land (Jan. 2011) / troppo tardi (Feb. 2011) / vagabook (May 2011) / luoghi comuni (June 2011) / view (May 2012) / diet cola zine (March 2013) / lifo (Apr. 2013) / popaganda (Dec. 2013, Oct. 2017)


. Curated _ 'Uncertain traces' (Images of the month, "come into land", July 2011)

_ contact _

panayotisioannidis@yahoo.gr