Tasos Livaditis/translated by Manolis Aligizakis

 

ΑΠΟΧΑΙΡΕΤΙΣΜΟΣ

 

Τον συναντούσα συνήθως στη σκάλα, καμιά φορά ερχόταν στην

κάμαρά μου και μάζευε τις σκόρπιες καρφίτσες απ’ το πάτωμα, “θα

τις πάω στη Μαρία” έλεγε και σα να ντρεπόταν που η Μαρία είχε

πεθάνει — ύστερα όλα άλλαξαν, το σπίτι σκοτείνιασε, μόλις μπο-

ρούσες να ξεχωρίσεις τ’ αλλοτινά σημάδια, στο δρόμο έφεγγε ένα

κηροπήγιο σα να `ταν κάτι, λέει, κάτω απ’ το χώμα που δεν έπρε-

πε να το ξεχάσουμε, “κι εσύ γιατί σ’ αρέσει να σέρνεσαι σαν το

σκουλήκι” μου λέει, “Κύριε, θέλω να προλάβω” του λέω κι όταν

ακούστηκε το τραίνο που σφύριζε για δεύτερη φορά, «εδώ τελειώ-

νουν τα όνειρα» είπε κι έβρεχε, έβρεχε ασταμάτητα πάνω σ’ όλον

το μάταιο κόσμο.

 

 

 

GOODBYE

 

I would usually meet him by the stairs at times he would come to

my room to pick the thrown pins from the floor, “I’ll give them

to Maria” he would say as if embarrassed that Maria had died —

then everything changed, the house got dark, you could hardly

discern the old wounds; in the street a candle was lit as if

they said, there was something under the soil we shouldn’t forget

“and you, why you like to crawl like a worm?” He said to me “Sir

I try to make it on time” I said to him and when the train was heard

whistling for the second time, “here end the dreams” he said and

it rained an unrelenting rain over the whole futile world.

 

 

 

TASOS LIVADITIS-SELECTED POEMS, translated by Manolis Aligizakis, Libros Libertad, Vancouver, 2014

www.libroslibertad.com

www.manolisaligizakis.com

Tasos Livaditis//Τάσος Λειβαδίτης

ΜΙΑ ΚΟΙΝΗ ΚΑΜΑΡΗ

Ανέβαινα απ’ ώρα τη σκάλα, μου άνοιξε μια γριά με μια μαύρη
σκούφια, “εδώ έχουν πεθάνει πολλοί” μου λέει “γι αυτό ό,τι κι αν
πεις δεν ακούγεται”, τότε είδα κάποιον που σερνόταν κάτω απ’ τον
καναπέ, “τί ψάχνει;” ρώτησα, “ο Χριστός” μου λέει “θα `ρθει κι
άλλες φορές”, η γυναίκα έριχνε τα χαρτιά, τρόμαξα καθώς είδα το
χέρι της ν’ ανεβαίνει, “θα χάσεις πολλές φορές το δρόμο” μου λέει,
“μα πώς θα τον χάσω” της λέω “εγώ είμαι ανήπηρος και δεν περ-
πατάω, άλλος σέρνει το καροτσάκι”, “κι όμως θα τον χάσεις” μου
λέει, “είσαι μια πουτάνα” της λέω “να με ταράζεις άγιον άνθρωπο
—κι εσύ, αφού κανένας δε σε θέλει, γιατί κουνιέσαι;”, “δεν κουνιέ-
μαι εγώ” μου λέει “το καντήλι τρέμει”, την λυπήθηκα, “σε ξέρω”
τής λέω “δέν αποκλείεται, μάλιστα, να `χουμε ζήσει πολύν καιρό
μαζί”, η ώρα ήταν επτά ακριβώς, κοίταξα το ρολόι μου κι έδειχνε
κι εκείνο το ίδιο, “τώρα αρχίζει” σκέφτηκα με απόγνωση, κι η
γριά με συρτά βήματα πήγε και μαντάλωσε την πόρτα.
AT THE BROTHEL

I was going up the stairs for a while when an old woman with a black
hood opened the door “everyone has died here” she says to me
“whatever you say nobody listens”; then I saw someone crawling
under the sofa “what is he looking for?” I asked “Christ” she says to me
“will come a few more times”; the woman started to read the cards
I was scared when I saw her hand pointing at me “you will lose
your way many a time” she says to me “how can I lose it” I say
“I’m crippled, I don’t walk, someone else pulls the cart”, “you will still
lose it”, “you are a whore” I say to her “and you disturb me, a holy man
—and you, if no one wants you why do you tease me?”, “I don’t tease
you, it’s the candle that flickers”; I felt sorry for her. “I know you”
I say to her “in fact it’s possible that we lived together long time ago”
the time was exactly seven o’clock; I looked at my watch and it showed
the same time “now she’ll start again” I thought in despair and
the old woman with slow steps went and locked the door.

 

TASOS LIVADITIS BIOGRAPHY

Tasos Livaditis (Anastasios Panteleimon Livaditis) was born in Athens April 20, 1922, son of Lissandros Livaditis and Vasiliki Kontoloulou. He was enrolled in the Law School of the University of Athens. German occupation interrupted his studies and his involvement with the Resistance and the political party EPON. His father, bankrupt by this time died during the occupation years and while the poet was exiled in Makronisos his mother also died. In 1946 he got married to Maria Stoupa, the valuable companion of his life and they had a daughter, Vassiliki. That same year he made his first literary appearance with the publication of his poem The Hatzidimitri Song in Elefthera Grammata. In 1947 he coordinated the release of the literary magazine Themelio. The years 1948-1952 he was exiled in Moudros, Saint Stratis, Makronisos along with all leftist artists and thinkers, Yannis Ritsos, Aris Alexandrou, Manos Katrakis, and many others. In 1952 his poetry books Battle at the Edge of the Night and This Star is for all of us were noticed. Three years later he was taken by the police because of his book It Blows in the Crossroads of the World but he was acquitted. His book Women with Equine Eyes, 1958, was a landmark in his literary career and his turn into the introverted and existential poetry of his middle life. In 1961 he went on a country tour along with Mikis Theodorakis who presented his poems set in music and Tasos Livaditis interacted with the audience reciting his poems and talking to them. The same year he collaborated with Kosta Kotzias in the writing of the script and the poems for the Alekos Alexandrakis film Neighbourhood of Dreams which was the turning point of Greek cinema but which was censored by the police. Livaditis co-operated with the newspaper Avgi from 1954-1980 with the exception of seven years during the dictatorship of the four colonels and with the magazine Art Review1962-1966 where he published a few political reviews and critiques. During the dictatorship 1967-1974 he translated various Greek literary works for commercial magazines in order to earn his living while he reminiscent the old days of the struggle and he reflected at the harshness of modern day life something he couldn’t accept a stand that reflected in his poetry of those days and in particular in his book Night Visitor. In 1986 he published his book Violets for a Season which is considered his swan song. He died in Athens, October 30th 1988 of an abdominal aneurism. The rest of his hand written poems were published after his death in a book titled Autumn Handwritings.
He was the recipient of the First Poetry Prize in the World Youth Poetry Festival of Warsaw 1953, the First Poetry Prize of the City of Athens, 1957; the second National Literary Prize for poetry 1976; the First National Literary prize for poetry 1979.
Livaditis was a founding member of the Company of Writers.
His verses were set in music by Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Loizos, George Tsagaris and other Greek music composers.

 

~Τάσου Λειβαδίτη-Εκλεγμένα Ποιήματα/Μετάφραση Μανώλη Αλυγιζάκη
~Tasos Livaditis-Selected Poems/Translated by Manolis Aligizakis
http://www.libroslibertad.ca
http://www.authormanlis.wordpress.com

ANGELOS SIKELIANOS-Lyric Life//ΑΓΓΕΛΟΣ ΣΙΚΕΛΙΑΝΟΣ-Λυρικός Βίος

ANGELOS SIKELIANOS, Lyric Life, Icaros, 1968

From the women of Steriu who gathered
at the monastery of Holy Loucas
to decorate the Epitaphios and
from all the dirge singers who
stayed in vigil until Holy Saturday night
who thought of — as sweetly as they sang ! —
that, under the flowers and the shimmering
enamel it was the flesh of dead Adonis
that went through such excruciating pain?
Because even pain
was among the roses and the Epitaphios lament
and the breaths of spring that
came through the church door grew new wings
from the miracle of resurrection and
the wounds of Christ resembling anemonies
by his feet covered with flowers and
their exquisite, their strong fragrance!

But during the night of the same Saturday
when they all lit their candles from
the one at the holy sanctuary to
the back end of the church, like a wave
the light reached the front door, they all
shivered when they heard among the
“Christ’s risen!” a sudden burst of a voice
yelling: “Georgena, Vangelis!”

There he was, the pride of the village, Vangelis
the dream of every girl, Vangelis
who they all thought was killed in the war; he stood
straight up by the church front door, with
a wooden leg, he wouldn’t come inside
the church, as they all with candles in their
hands looked at him, the dancer who shook
the threshing floors of Steriu, once his face
once his leg as if nailed on the threshold
and couldn’t come further in!

Then, let this verse be my witness—
this simple and truthful verse —
from the pew I was standing I
saw the mother to take off her kerchief
and dash with her head down and
embrace the leg, the wooden leg of the soldier —
and as I saw it my verse writes it here,
this simple and truthful verse —
and she cried out deep from her heart
the yell: “my jewel…my Vangelis!”

And let this verse be my witness
this simple and truthful verse —
they all stood behind her, all who had gathered
since the night of Holy Thursday,
with lullabies to lament for the dead
Adonis, hidden in the flowers, now
they burst out along with the mother’s
yell reaching to the pew I stood
and covered my eyes like a peplos!

ΑΓΓΕΛΟΣ ΣΙΚΕΛΙΑΝΟΣ, Λυρικός Βίος, Ίκαρος, 1968

Στ’ Όσιου Λουκά το μοναστήρι, απ’ όσες
γυναίκες του Στειριού συμμαζευτήκαν
τον Eπιτάφιο να στολίσουν, κι όσες
μοιρολογήτρες ώσμε του Mεγάλου
Σαββάτου το ξημέρωμα αγρυπνήσαν,
ποια να στοχάστη – έτσι γλυκά θρηνούσαν! –
πως, κάτου απ’ τους ανθούς, τ’ ολόαχνο σμάλτο
του πεθαμένου του Άδωνη ήταν σάρκα
που πόνεσε βαθιά;
Γιατί κι ο πόνος
στα ρόδα μέσα, κι ο Eπιτάφιος Θρήνος,
κ’ οι αναπνοές της άνοιξης που μπαίναν
απ’ του ναού τη θύρα, αναφτερώναν
το νου τους στης Aνάστασης το θάμα,
και του Xριστού οι πληγές σαν ανεμώνες
τους φάνταζαν στα χέρια και στα πόδια,
τι πολλά τον σκεπάζανε λουλούδια
που έτσι τρανά, έτσι βαθιά ευωδούσαν!

Aλλά το βράδυ το ίδιο του Σαββάτου,
την ώρα π’ απ’ την Άγια Πύλη το ένα
κερί επροσάναψε όλα τ’ άλλα ως κάτου,
κι απ’ τ’ Άγιο Bήμα σάμπως κύμα απλώθη
το φως ώσμε την ξώπορτα, όλοι κι όλες
ανατριχιάξαν π’ άκουσαν στη μέση
απ’ τα “Xριστός Aνέστη” μιαν αιφνίδια
φωνή να σκούξει: “Γιώργαινα, ο Bαγγέλης!”

Kαι να, ο λεβέντης του χωριού, ο Bαγγέλης,
των κοριτσιών το λάμπασμα, ο Bαγγέλης,
που τον λογιάζαν όλοι για χαμένο
στον πόλεμο· και στέκονταν ολόρτος
στης εκκλησιάς τη θύρα, με ποδάρι
ξύλινο, και δε διάβαινε τη θύρα
της εκκλησιάς, τι τον κοιτάζαν όλοι
με τα κεριά στο χέρι, τον κοιτάζαν,
το χορευτή που τράνταζε τ’ αλώνι
του Στειριού, μια στην όψη, μια στο πόδι,
που ως να το κάρφωσε ήταν στο κατώφλι
της θύρας, και δεν έμπαινε πιο μέσα!

Kαι τότε – μάρτυράς μου νά ‘ναι ο στίχος,
ο απλός κι αληθινός ετούτος στίχος –
απ’ το στασίδι πού ‘μουνα στημένος
ξαντίκρισα τη μάνα, απ’ το κεφάλι
πετώντας το μαντίλι, να χιμήξει
σκυφτή και ν’ αγκαλιάσει το ποδάρι,
το ξύλινο ποδάρι του στρατιώτη,
– έτσι όπως το είδα ο στίχος μου το γράφει,
ο απλός κι αληθινός ετούτος στίχος -,
και να σύρει απ’ τα βάθη της καρδιάς της
ένα σκούξιμο: “Mάτια μου… Bαγγέλη!”

Kι ακόμα, – μάρτυράς μου νά ‘ναι ο στίχος,
ο απλός κι αληθινός ετούτος στίχος -,
ξοπίσωθέ της, όσες μαζευτήκαν
από το βράδυ της Mεγάλης Πέφτης,
νανουριστά, θαμπά για να θρηνήσουν
τον πεθαμένον Άδωνη, κρυμμένο
μες στα λουλούδια, τώρα να ξεσπάσουν
μαζί την αξεθύμαστη του τρόμου
κραυγή που, ως στο στασίδι μου κρατιόμουν,
ένας πέπλος μου σκέπασε τα μάτια!…

The source of the Greek version of this post : ~www.cantfus.blogspot.gr

BIOGRAPHY

Sikelianos was born in Lefkada where he spent his childhood. In 1900 he entered the Law School of Athens but did not graduate.

The next years he travelled extensively and devoted himself to poetry. In 1907, he married American born Eva Palmer. They married in America and moved to Athens in 1908. During that period, Sikelianos came in contact with Greek intellectuals, and in 1909 he published his first collection of poems, Alafroískïotos (The Light-Shadowed), which had an immediate impact and was recognized by critics as an important work. He also befriended fellow writer Nikos Kazantzakis, and in 1914 they spent forty days on Mount Athos, visiting most of the monasteries there and living the life of ascetics. The following year they embarked on a pilgrimage through Greece.
In May 1927, with the support of his wife, Eva Palmer-Sikelianos, Sikelianos held the Delphic Festival as part of his general effort towards the revival of the “Delphic Idea”. Sikelianos believed that the principles which had shaped the classic civilisation, if re-examined, could offer spiritual independence and serve as a means of communication among people.

During the German occupation, he became a source of inspiration to the Greek people, especially through his speech and poem that he recited at the funeral of the poet Kostis Palamas.

In 1949, he was a Nobel Prize for Literature candidate.

He died accidentally in Athens from inadvertently drinking Lysol after having requested Nujol (a medicine) in 1951.

~Wikipedia

Τάσου Λειβαδίτη-Εκλεγμένα Ποιήματα/Tasos Livaditis-Selected Poems

ΜΙΑ ΚΟΙΝΗ ΚΑΜΑΡΑ

Ανέβαινα απ’ ώρα τη σκάλα, μου άνοιξε μια γριά με μια μαύρη
σκούφια, “εδώ έχουν πεθάνει πολλοί” μου λέει “γι αυτό ό,τι κι αν
πεις δεν ακούγεται”, τότε είδα κάποιον που σερνόταν κάτω απ’ τον
καναπέ, “τί ψάχνει;” ρώτησα, “ο Χριστός” μου λέει “θα `ρθει κι
άλλες φορές”, η γυναίκα έριχνε τα χαρτιά, τρόμαξα καθώς είδα το
χέρι της ν’ ανεβαίνει, “θα χάσεις πολλές φορές το δρόμο” μου λέει,
“μα πώς θα τον χάσω” της λέω “εγώ είμαι ανήπηρος και δεν περ-
πατάω, άλλος σέρνει το καροτσάκι”, “κι όμως θα τον χάσεις” μου
λέει, “είσαι μια πουτάνα” της λέω “να με ταράζεις άγιον άνθρωπο
—κι εσύ, αφού κανένας δε σε θέλει, γιατί κουνιέσαι;”, “δεν κουνιέ-
μαι εγώ” μου λέει “το καντήλι τρέμει”, την λυπήθηκα, “σε ξέρω”
τής λέω “δέν αποκλείεται, μάλιστα, να `χουμε ζήσει πολύν καιρό
μαζί”, η ώρα ήταν επτά ακριβώς, κοίταξα το ρολόι μου κι έδειχνε
κι εκείνο το ίδιο, “τώρα αρχίζει” σκέφτηκα με απόγνωση, κι η
γριά με συρτά βήματα πήγε και μαντάλωσε την πόρτα.
A COMMON ROOM

I was going up the stairs for a while when an old woman with a black
hood opened the door “everyone has died here” she says to me
“whatever you say nobody listens”; then I saw someone crawling
under the sofa “what is he looking for?” I asked “Christ” she says to me
“will come a few more times”; the woman started to read the cards
I was scared when I saw her hand pointing at me “you will lose
your way many a time” she says to me “how can I lose it” I say
“I’m crippled, I don’t walk, someone else pulls the cart”, “you will still
lose it”, “you are a whore” I say to her “and you disturb me, a holy man
—and you, if no one wants you why do you tease me?”, “I don’t tease
you, it’s the candle that flickers”; I felt sorry for her. “I know you”
I say to her “in fact it’s possible that we lived together long time ago”
the time was exactly seven o’clock; I looked at my watch and it showed
the same time “now she’ll start again” I thought in despair and
the old woman with slow steps went and locked the door.

~Τάσου Λειβαδίτη-Εκλεγμένα Ποιήματα/Μετάφραση Μανώλη Αλυγιζάκη
~Tasos Livaditis-Selected Poems/Translated by Manolis Aligizakis
http://www.libroslibertad.ca