Greek Music Express: World Poetry Day: Manolis Anagnostakis | 21 May 2024

On Thursday, March 21st, here at GME we will be celebrating World Poetry Day by listening to Manolis Anagnostakis’ poetry set to music. The charged words and meanings of the poet meet the musical genius of Mikis Theodorakis, Michalis Grigoriou, Thanos Mikroutsikos and Dimitris Papadimitriou. Film director Lakis Papastathis writes the following about Manolis Anagnostakis: “So many struggles and imprisonments, so many persecutions, executions, losses of comrades gave birth to so few poems in the soul of the poet – about a hundred – which nevertheless even today help us to know something about the course of our country through the entanglements of conflict, despair and blood. I understand why poems are so few – because the rule of art requires a process of density, concealment, symbols and allegories. These elements perhaps solidify the poem and make it capable of traveling through time and remaining alive when the era that gave birth to it is irretrievably gone”.