K AZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS
NEWSLETTER SPRING 2012 CONTENTS «READ KAZANTZAKIS» CHRIST RECRUCIFIED AT THE GREEK RADIOTELEVISION CHRIST RECRUCIFIED WITH THE SUNDAY PAPER “VIMA” THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR IN THESSALONIKI 35TH BOOK FAIR AT AREOS PARK NEW RELEASE: THE MASTERBUILDER [THE SACRIFICE] 49TH INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS BOOK FAIR IN BOLOGNA NATIONAL LITERATURE AWARDS 2011 COLLECTOR’S ODYSSEY RAFFLE AT THE HELLENIC AUTHOR’S SOCIETY BEFORE SUNSET FROM THE “MONDAY THEATER”
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
2 ▪ “READ KAZANTZAKIS”
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012
READ KAZANTZAKIS
“READ KAZANTZAKIS” In the original television spots that are being featured on ALPHA TV with the distinctive catchphrase “Read Kazantzakis”, a warm voice rings through: it is the voice of Lakis Lazopoulos, whose artistic and educational efforts evince his sensitivity in matters of culture and Hellenism, as his personal interest in individuals enduring financial and social hardships reveal his social concerns. His humor, integrally bound to his sharp, critical thought, is never detached from his love for his fellow human being, the average Greek, who now, more than ever, needs laughter as much as he needs to be critically vigilant: something which Lakis steadily offers in his inspired and uniquely personal way. With kindness and generosity, Lakis offered the series of television spots on Kazantzakis, which aired for the first time during his popular satirical show “Al Tsandiri News” on ALPHA TV. His decision to channel in this manner his love for books, and especially his love for the works of Nikos Kazantzakis has moved us tremendously and has given us cause for great joy. On the one hand, it is a promotion of our ecumenical author’s work, to which we at the Kazantzakis Publications have dedicated our efforts, while, on the other hand, it is an incredible motivation to young people in a period of dire pessimism, reminding them that they can find support, strength, and elevation in our cultural heritage, of which the unparalleled quality and beauty of the works of Nikos Kazantzakis are a part.
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
CHRIST RECRUCIFIED ON ERT AND VIMA NEWSPAPER
CHRIST RECRUCIFIED ON THE HELLENIC RADIOTELEVISION
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012 ▪ 3
CHRIST RECRUCIFIED WITH THE SUNDAY PAPER “VIMA”
As of April 3rd 2012, the historic television series Christ Recrucified, based on the masterful novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, which also became a classic film, an opera, and a theatrical play, is being broadcasted once more to the national audience by the Greek Radio Television. The legendary series, which is being re-run daily by the national broadcasting station of Greece, was directed masterfully by Vasilis Georgiades, based on the screenplay of Notis Pergialis and Gerasimos Stavrou. The protagonists Alexandros Golfis, Lykourgos Kallergis, Georgos Foundas, Katia Dandoulaki, and Andreas Philippides continue to grip audiences with their riveting performances. The work is as captivating and relevant to the times as ever. In a subjugated Greek village under Turkish yolk, the annual representation of the Holy Passion during Easter, and the tragedy of a community of refugees generate immense existential and social conflicts, raising the timeless question: how much has the world changed after the miracles, the teachings, the Martyrdom and Resurrection of Christ? Is Love doomed to always end up crucified?
On March 4th 2012, the novel Christ Recrucified was released in an adapted monotonic version by the Sunday newspaper “VIMA”, as part of its popular series “Greek Masters of Prose in the 20th Century”, edited by Eleni Kechagioglou. The work was wellreceived by the readership, whose love of Kazantzakis’ works propelled the sales of the already successful newspaper.
FREE ACCESS TO SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS FROM THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS The proceedings of the Symposium Nikos Kazantzakis: In the Footsteps of the Man and Creator, are freely accessible to all through the website of the Kazantzakis Publications (www.kazantzakispublications.org). The Symposium, which was organized by the Publications on October 26th 2011 in Athens, marked the occasion of the 54th anniversary of the death of the ecumenical Greek author. We wish to thank, once more, the speakers for their kind consent and cooperation in the publication of the proceedings.
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
4 ▪ 9TH INTERNATIONAL FAIR IN THESSALONIKI
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012
THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR IN THESSALONIKI MAY 24-27 2012
Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:White_Tower.jpg
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
9TH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR IN THESSALONIKI
NEWSLETTER– SPRING 2012 ▪ 5
The Kazantzakis Publications [Patroclos Stavrou] participated with great success in the 9th International Book Fair of Thessaloniki, which took place between May 24-27 2012 in the oft-hailed second capital of Greece, Thessaloniki. The fair city received her international guests as a veritable world Capital in the distinctive cultural plane of literature. The 9th International Book Fair of Thessaloniki, a superb collaboration between the National Book Center of Greece (EKEBI), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Hellenic Federation of Publishers and Booksellers and Helexpo, gave voice to the international pulse of book lovers to be heard loud and clear, who, even in these trying economic times, continue to ‘fight the good fight’. The Director of the Kazantzakis Publications, Niki P. Stavrou, had several positive meetings with members of the Media as well as with Mr. George Stasinakis, President of the International Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis. Ms. Stavrou and Mr. Stasinakis met in a creative and collaborative spirit to exchange views on the dissemination of the works of Nikos Kazantzakis internationally. The interest of foreign publishers and translators for the cultural output of Greece was expressed with vigor, confirming in this manner the fact that in times of adversity and strife, people tend to seek support in more essential means, such as literature, and, with regard to Kazantzakis, in classic literature. Thus, many were the local visitors as well as the representatives of foreign countries who, impressed with the volume and quality of the works of Nikos Kazantzakis, conveyed their admiration and enthusiasm to Ms. Niki P. Stavrou.
Τhe booth of the Kazantzakis Publications
The Director of the Kazantzakis Publications, Niki P. Stavrou, at the booth of the International Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis, pictured here with the Society’s President, Mr. George Stasinakis, author Vasilis Vasilikos, Asterios Ribas, and a member of the Society.
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
6 ▪ 9TH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR IN THESSALONIKI
Pictured here: Aleksandar Sunko and Ivan Srsen speaking with Niki P. Stavrou on the importance of the Croatian translation of Saviors of God. Pictured below: view of the Croatian booth at the Fair .
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012 On Friday, May 25th 2012, during the 9th International Book Fair in Thessaloniki, the new Croatian translation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ Saviors of God was officially presented to the public by Sandorf Publishing of Croatia. The Publisher, Mr. Ivan Srsen, the First Secretary of the Embassy of Croatia in Greece, Mr. Aleksandar Sunko, and Ms. Niki P. Stavrou, Director of the Kazantzakis Publications and Foreign Rights Director for the works of Nikos and Eleni Kazantzakis presented to the public the outstanding translation by Ms. Irena Gavranovic which has been hailed for its fidelity to the original Greek text, and discussed the historic moment in which Greece and Croatia have drawn near through the Word of Nikos Kazantzakis. During the presentation, which took place at the official booth of the Croatian Ministry of Culture (marking the first time Croatia participated in the International Book Fair in Thessaloniki), the scope of our ecumenical author’s works was once again emphasized, as evinced by the growing interest of the readership and of publishers in neighboring Croatia in the works of Nikos Kazantzakis. This new “chapter” for Kazantzakis’ works in Croatia began with the publications by the much loved author, translator and veteran journalist Stjepo Martinovic, whose three translations, Zorba the Greek, God’s Pauper, and The Last Temptation of Christ have been widely embraced by the Croatian readership. The future is quite promising with Sandorf Publishing expected to release six titles of works by Nikos Kazantzakis in Croatian, of which Saviors of God is the first to have entered circulation. The new release of the Kazantzakis Publications was presented for the first time to the public at the 9th International Book Fair in Thessaloniki, where attendees had the unique privilege to enjoy Nikos Kazantzakis’ youthful tragedy The Masterbuilder (The Sacrifice) written in 1908. This new edition, now in circulation, includes the original handwritten manuscript of the author, literary commentary and an Afterword.
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
35TH BOOK FAIR AT AREOS PARK
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012 ▪ 7
THE KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] at the 35TH BOOK FAIR AT AREOS PARK: MAY 4-20, 2012
The Kazantzakis Publications [Patroclos Stavrou] had yet another dynamic presence at the Book Fair at Areos Park, one of the venues to have been most intimately associated with the ‘Book’ in the consciousness and memory of the Athenian readership. This year, the 35th annual Book Fair, which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, returned to Areos Park in a brilliant event co-organized by the Association of Book Publishers of Athens and the Athens Periphery, in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and the Municipal Organization for Culture, Athletics and Youth. Neither the readership nor the professionals in the book industry were untouched by the adversity of the times and the recent political developments (as, for example, the elections), and several were the complaints of visitors regarding the degradation the Park has suffered in recent years. Despite the heavy atmosphere, the Kazantzakis Publications launched forth with a positive outlook, decorating the Publications’ booth with photo materials from the life of the great Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis and his beloved wife Eleni N. Kazantzakis, and informed the public about the author’s life and work. The Kazantzakis Publications also informed readers about each title in its catalog of books, and especially apprised visitors of the new editions of the author’s works, and of the special prices the Publications maintain with unswerving dedication at each Book Fair.
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
8 ▪ ΝEW RELEASE : THE MASTERBUILDER [THE SACRIFICE]
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012
NEW RELEASE
THE MASTERBUILDER [THE SACRIFICE] BY NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS
Forty five masons and sixty apprentices Toiled three years on the Arta bridge; By day they built, by night it fell. The masons lament, the apprentices cry: — “Alack, our labors, our poor work lost, All day we build, and at night it falls!”. And the specter replied from the right arch: — “If you do not haunt a man, the wall will never hold; And haunt not an orphan, neither a stranger, nor a traveler, But the master builder’s lovely wife, Who comes in late in the early morn, who comes in late in midday”. Excerpt from the folk song “The Bridge of Arta”
NEW RELEASE: THE MASTERBUILDER [THE SACRIFICE] Νikos Kazantzakis’ Masterbuilder is not simply the competent yet conventional laborer of folk tradition, and Smaragda, his beloved Wife, who is enwalled in the bridge, is not his conventional spouse “by law”. Their Passion dares to defy the pettiness of their subjugated and envious social context and is defeated by death in the arena of Great Labors, which crushes their youthful vanity without mercy, though not their Love. Through his unique perspective, Kazantzakis manages to re-tell the classic legend of the Bridge of Arta in a wholly original way, and propels the story, celebrated in the folk traditions of many other peoples, to new heights. SMARAGDA
Oh! scream and howl, now, like dogs circling the dying doe! Yes, yes, you all saw me, and what should I care? Till now I cast my beauty upon your hearts and you all hated me! Now I cast my love as well! Do not shriek! He knows each mark upon my body! And what of it, that I will die? The whole river will not be able to erase his kisses from my body! FEMALE CHORUS
The whole river will not be able to erase your shame from your body! MINSTREL
My God, how sweet the Shame! How sweet the Shame! FEMALE CHORUS
— Paralyzed! — Night-kissed! — Shameless! SMARAGDA
Shriek! Shriek! What does it matter to me? (Nikos Kazantzakis, The Masterbuilder [The Sacrifice], Kazantzakis Publications, Athens, 2012, pg. 62.)
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012 ▪ 9 Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957) wrote the tragedy The Masterbuilder (originally The Sacrifice) in 1908, and submitted it to the Lassanion Dramatic Contest in 1910, where it received an award. The work, dedicated to Idas (meaning, Ion Dragoumis), was published twice in the same year (under the pseudonym Petros Psilorotis) in the Panathinaia Magazine, once in vol.20 of the magazine that ran between 15-30 June, 1910, (pages 131144), and then as a featured edition with a few minor changes. The contemporary, revised edition of the play (Kazantzakis Publications [Patroclos Stavrou], Athens, May, 2012) was based primarily on the edition featured in the Panathinaia Magazine, which was then checked against the original manuscript that had been submitted to the Lassanion Contest and is now held at the National Library of Greece. Thanks to the productive and kind collaboration with officials at the National Library, the Kazantzakis Publications were able to include in this new release an adapted reproduction of the entire handwritten manuscript of The Sacrifice, which is to say, The Masterbuilder. In his illuminating Introduction to the work, the renown Theatrologist and Professor Emeritus at the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens, Walter Puchner, expounds upon the story, the form, and the significance of this drama by the young Nikos Kazantzakis, and provides the pertinent bibliography. Included in the Afterword of the book is the enlightening text on the Essay of the Lassanion Dramatic Contest as it was read by S.K. Sakellaropoulos of the University of Athens on May 16, 1910, which gives the contemporary reader the unique opportunity to see the manner in which the Kazantzakian work, together with the other works it “competed against”, was approached by the Committee that was called to judge it.
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
10 ▪ 49TH INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS BOOK FAIR IN BOLOGNA
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012
THE KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS TOGETHER WITH THE NATIONAL BOOK CENTER OF GREECE AT THE 49TH INTERNATIONAL CILDRENS BOOK FAIR IN BOLOGNA
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
49TH INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS BOOK FAIR IN BOLOGNA
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012 ▪ 11
From the 19th to the 22nd of March 2012, the fair city of Bologna in Italy hosted the annual International Children’s Book Fair, which is justly considered the most important international event with regard to children’s books. The National Book Center of Greece, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism had their own booth, in which the Kazantzakis Publications [Patroclos Stavrou] participated with the extraordinary historical novels for children, At the Palaces of Knossos and Alexander the Great. These books were accompanied by the novels Zorba the Greek, God’s Pauper, and Eleni N. Kazantzakis award-winning Mahatma Gandhi, a Saintly Life, as well as by the new Italian translation of Zorba entitled Zorba il greco, by Italian publisher and neo-Hellenist Nicola Crocetti. The 49th International Children’s Book Fair enjoyed another successful year, with 1200 publishers from 66 countries participating in the event and more than 600 media correspondents covering the event worldwide.
N. Kazantzakis with the children of P. Hanos (Aegina, 1927)
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
12 ▪ NATIONAL LITERATURE AWARDS 2011 & RAFFLE AT THE HELLENIC AUTHOR’S SOCIETY
NATIONAL LITERATURE AWARDS 2011 CARMEN VILELA ΚΑΙ FREEDOM OR DEATH
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012
COLLECTOR’S EDITION OF THE ODYSSEY RAFFLE AT THE HELLENIC AUTHOR’S SOCIETY
On Monday, April 30, 2012, the award ceremony for the 2011 National Literature Awards was held at the Benaki Museum on Piraeus Street in Athens. The Kazantzakis Publications is pleased to announce that Carmen Vilela, long time friend and collaborating associate of the Publications, was distinguished for her translation of Emmanouil Roidis’ Relatos de Siros, recuerdos y reflexiones, published by the University of Seville. Ms. Vilela shared her award for Best Translation of a Greek Work in a Foreign Language with Mr. Peter Jeffreys, for his annotated translation of C. P. Cavafy’s Selected Prose Works, published by the University of Michigan. During her speech, Ms. Vilela announced the completion of the much-awaited translation of the superb Kazantzakian masterpiece, Captain Michalis (Freedom or Death) which will soon be released by Spanish publishing house Cátedra.
Pictured here: The Director of the Kazantzakis Publications, Niki P. Stavrou with Spanish translator Carmen Vilela at the official unveiling of the newly renovated premises of the Kazantzakis Publications (October 27, 2011)
The annual “Author’s Gala Event” of the Hellenic Author’s Society (EEL) was hosted this year at the “Michailas Averof Hall” on March 9, 2012. To mark the occasion and to honor the institution at which Nikos Kazantzakis himself had, at one time, presided as President, the Kazantzakis Publications [Patroclos Stavrou] offered a collector’s edition of the ODYSSEY to the Hellenic Author’s Society raffle. The masterful Kazantzakian epic recounts, in 33,333 verses, the adventures and journeys of Odysseus, from his return to Ithaca and his departure anew, until his death in the Cold South Ocean. Our ecumenical author devoted at least 15,000 hours to the seven drafts of the work, and his life companion, Eleni, who typed all seven drafts notes: “writing the Odyssey does not compare to the writing of any other poetic work. It is as though the new face of God is being etched in stone. Odysseus will be the new man.” This collector’s edition, published in 2006 as a reprint of the first edition of 1938, (35,5 × 25,5 cm, clothbound, presented in a special case) has been characterized as a “monumental masterpiece of typographical art”, and includes a Vocabulary section created by the poet himself, as well as an Afterword containing his handwritten texts.
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
BEFORE SUNSET BY THE “MONDAY THEATER”
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012 ▪ 13
G. HAUPTMANN’S BEFORE SUNSET, TRANSLATION BY NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS, PRESENTED BY THE “MONDAY THEATER” OF GREEK RADIO-TELEVISION, NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH ‘RADIO-TELEVISION MAGAZINE’
The much-loved “MONDAY THEATER” of Greek National Television has, for many years, enthralled countless families, investing Monday nights with a special air of theater, dreams, and magic through its televised theatrical productions of greater or lesser known works which featured a cast of established or, at the time, rising young actors. The Kazantzakis Publications was pleasantly surprised to discover that MONDAY THEATER’S theatrical production of Gerhart Hauptmann’s Before Sunset, translated by Nikos Kazantzakis, was released on DVD with the 2196th volume of RadioTelevision Magazine, which circulated March 16-22, 2012. This release coincides with the first edition of Nikos Kazantzakis’ translation of the particular dramatic work by Gerhart Hauptmann, published earlier this year by the Kazantzakis Publications [Patroclos Stavrou]. In the television production which was first broadcasted on June 11, 1979, as with the staging of the play by the National Theater of Greece (19361942), the play is presented without its fifth, and final, Act, delivering unto the protagonist a tragic ending, though not the choice ending of its creator, which was perceived as too scandalous for the morals of its time. In the MONDAY THEATER’S production of Before Sunset, Matthias is played by Lykourgos Kallergis, and Inken is played by Chloe Liaskou. The protagonists are supported by the moving performances of Panos Hatzikoutselis in the role of Egmond, Efi Roditis in the role of Belina, Erse Malikenzou in the role of Paola-Clotilde, and Eleni Zafeiriou as Mrs. Peters. The play was directed by Stelios Rallis, with costumes and sets by Giannis Kyrou, and music under the direction of Myrta Polyzos. Those who choose to enjoy Before Sunset in film as well as in print, from the Kazantzakis Publications, are in for a double treat: not only will they acquaint themselves with the work of dramatist Gerhart Hauptmann, and his translator, Nikos Kazantzakis, but will also have the opportunity to examine the timeless local and international success of this particular work. The televised production affords one the immediate “mystery” of the missing Fifth Act of the play, while the commentary and other ‘extras’ of the book honor both laborers of the Written Word and of Art and enhance one’s contemporary reading and understanding of the masterful work. KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012
“The children are well, I gave them chocolate eggs and yellow Japanese birds and we all laughed and played together.” From a letter to Eleni (April 14, 1928)
NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2012
KAZANTZAKIS PUBLICATIONS [PATROCLOS STAVROU] ▪ Charilaou Trikoupi 116 ▪ 114 72 Athens ▪ Tel.: 0030 210 3642829 ▪ Fax: 0030 210 3642830 ▪ www.kazantzakispublications.org