NILAVRONILL TALKING WITH
POET OF THE MONTH
ANDROMACHE
BENEKOU
NILAVRONILL: Welcome to Our Poetry Archive, dear
poet. I would like to know your personal views on literature or poetry in
general.
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: Thank
you for inviting me to your beautiful publication, “Our Poetry Archive”. I am
happy and it is truly an honour to be interviewed by
you NilavroNill! I feel that literature and poetry is a star that follows and
illuminates all my life.
NILAVRONILL: What are the factors that have
influenced you immensely in the growing phase of your literary life. When, most
probably you were not certain of your future as a poet or writer. Is there
anyone in your life, influenced you personally to develop your literary skills?
Or inspire you to become a poet? Do you think society as a whole is the key
factor in shaping up you as a poet, or your poetry altogether?
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: The Greek
school was a source of inspiration for me as I was taught the great ancient
Greek writers and poets such as Homer, the tragic poets Aeschylus, Sophocles
and Euripides and the comic poet Aristophanes, as well as modern Greek poets
such as C. P. Cavafy! Reading all these amazing poets and authors made me start
writing and drawing at a young age. A literature teacher in high school
encouraged me to paint alongside my poems, as I enjoyed to do, something I
continue to do in my poetry collections. Each of my paintings is inspired by
one of my poems! In our social environment, everything that fascinates us
happens, such as romance, love, solidarity, empathy, music, theatre, or things
that hurt us such as war in other countries, refuges and hungry children in the
world. All the above bring positive or negative emotions, leading me to write
with the hope that perhaps in the future man will realise the unity of the
world and be led to the path of Peace and prosperity.
NilavroNill: Is it possible
to put into the words everything that as a poet you wish to express literarily?
If not, why?
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: The Greek language that I mainly
write is a rich treasure trove of words that
positively influences the expression in my poems. Also, my inspiration is
mainly emotional and the words find their way into writing spontaneously, truly
and with love.
NilavroNill:
Do
you agree with John Keats (1795-1821) on his ardent believe, “Truth is beauty,
beauty is truth”? Even if we take for instance the wars especially in Europe or
the fall out of second world war in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, how can we manage
to reconcile between those truths with beauty as promulgated by Keats?
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: I think that John Keats’
belief that truth is beauty or beauty is truth concerns the ideal word where
everything is harmonious and perfect. In the real world, seeing the
consequences of World War II in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we can say certainly
that the truth of war did not bring beauty at all but only
pain, violence and destruction!
NilavroNill:
Too
many writers believe imagery is an essential part of poetry. Do you agree this
notion? Even if we consider Leonardo da Vinci’s words that poetry is painting
that is felt rather than seen.
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: Without
knowing that many writers believe that imagery is an essential part of poetry,
since I started writing poems, as I mentioned before, I have been painting most
of them. Also, most of my lyrics are images. I completely agree with Leonardo
Da Vinci that poetry is painting!
NilavroNill:
Do you believe,
passionately falling in love with a particular language is essential to excel
in poetical ventures? And is it possible to write poems in multiple languages
preserving same literary quality? We would like to know your own experiences.
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: Mastering a
language is a never-ending process because literature is endless. There are so
many new writers and poets that a lifetime is not enough to read them all. I
believe that knowing a language at a high level helps in the upward development
of a poet. Knowing the Greek language at a high level helps me to be able to
write more literary. My poems either have rhythm and rhyme, or have free verse,
have rich, unique, literary verse and have been distinguished in international
competitions. I think it is difficult for someone to write equally literary in
multiple languages.
NilavroNill:
Do
you consider poetry as an emotional outburst of poet’s personal sentiments? Or
is it a long journey to realize and express the universal sentiments beyond all
personal limitations? Again, we want to understand your views through your
personal experiences of your literary life as a poet.
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: Poetry expresses a poet’s
feelings about various topics that can be through personal experiences about
love, romance, family, nature etc. however, this path of expression would be
one-side if the poet did not enter the global paths of events concerning war,
poverty-hunger on the planet, the lack of clean drinking water in some areas,
the lack of basic education for some children etc. The issues that interest me
do not only concern my small circle of life, but also global issues about Peace,
solidarity, empathy, History, freedom in the world etc.
NilavroNill: I would like to quote T. S.
Eliot, “No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His
significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead
poets and artists. You cannot value him
alone; you must set him for contrast and comparison among the dead.” We would
like to know your views in details on Eliot’s comments.
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: Dead poets or
artists are alive through their poetry or artistic work, which is for us
younger people the compass to walk the path of poetry or for example the path
of painting. There is no virgin birth in poetry or artistic creation, there are
influences because our poetic or artistic identity has been formed by our
contact with the poets or artists who lived in the past. If we, the younger poets or artists want to
see our value, we should see what we have contributed to art, of course
compared to the great poets or artists. I feel a sense of awe, because there
are unsurpassed poets and artists who have been written in golden letters in
the History of Art and Culture!
NilavroNill:
Would
you consider, it should be the goal of a poet to enlightens the readers towards
much greater apprehensions as well as appreciations of life and eternity in
general? Or is it better to write poems only to console the poet’s soul? Do you
believe, literature can eventually help people to uplift human conscience?
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: The world
today is divided and there is a lot of violence, wars, hostility, racism. All
these happen because man is in error and does not understand the unity of
world, that we are all brothers and sisters and that everything would be solved
with love. Therefore, by writing poetry, I hope to be able to show those around
me how I perceive the world full of love, peace and prosperity, far away from
our chaotic modern environment!
NilavroNill: According to Tagore, poetry is essentially
something to enjoy and not to comprehend mere meanings. What are your thoughts
on this regard? What do you expect from your readers, should they enjoy your
poems more than comprehend the essential meanings or both?
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: Certainly,
poetry as an art encompasses beauty, pleasure but also the deeper meanings that
flow from and touch the reader. I would like my poems to have a literary level
that my readers not only enjoy, but also leave meanings for thought
NILAVRONILL: Humanity has suffered immensely in the past, and is still suffering around the world. We all know it well. As a poet or even as a literary person, how do you foresee the future of mankind?
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: I envision
the era when man will manage to become more conscious and will live with love
and Peace, creating achievements of civilisation away from the destructive
factor. I hope man will succeed in this challenge in the future!
ANDROMACHE BENEKOU: She was born in
Greece. Her love for books and evolution prompted her to study economics,
pedagogy and postgraduate studies, (with three financial scholarships for
excellence from the State Scholarship Foundation. I.K.Y.) She is an
award-winning poet and writer, in Greece and abroad. She is also a painter and
puppeteer. She has six poetry collections, her poems have themes of Peace,
Ancient Greece, Greek History, the values of freedom, solidarity, love, romance, children etc. She has taken
part in poetry festivals and her poems are published in translation in various
magazines and anthologies in Greece and abroad. She was distinguished for her
original puppet-poetic work and for her volunteer work in institutions of
Ioannina, with the promotion of Greek literature and culture from 2002 to the
present. She was honored as a founding member of the World Day of C. P. Cavafy
and two of her visual constructions “Kithi” (mascot of the Guitar Museum) and
“the guitar fountain” are exhibited at the Guitar Museum in Volos, Greece.
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