EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: INTERVIEW

 

NILAVRONILL TALKING WITH

POET OF THE MONTH

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU

NILAVRONILL: Welcome to Our Poetry Archive. Why do literature and poetry in particular interest you so much? Please give us some idea about your own perception of literature or poetry in general.

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: Dear NilavroNill, I am really grateful to have a voice in Our Poetry archive. And that you are interested in my literary project Poetry Unites people. During my life I have travel and I have met several people from different countries and cultures, those who really stay in my heart, was the Poets. They had something extraordinary in their hearts that it could captivate your soul and change your perception of life. When I was in France to study and work, I met an extraordinary person who teaches me to read and feel the words... because this is the only way to understand a poem. Since that day I was reading poetry in any languages, French language and English, Italian and Arabic language and I discovered all that knowledge. We write because we need to exist and leave a footprint for the next generation. It's something we have in our DNA. We need to show our experience and our way of being in the next generation in my opinion i believe in the power of words. Through literature and Poetry, it's very easy to present our lives, our feelings and emotions that sometimes is very hard to express. We write, we live in a dream and we can also discover our deepest fears inside the literature. Par example we read a book of Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, it's a subject so common, a woman married with an old man who has been working all day and suddenly she is finding a lover... In the Tolstoy book Anna Karenina became almost a heroine, due to his amazing talent to write with so many details and give us accurate information about the ethics and values of the period that the story was written. In fact, this is Poetry for me, a journey through cultures and people, an amazing long journey where I met people and together, we are using words to make a beautiful place to leave in.

NILAVRONILL: Do you believe that your literary self is actually an extension of your soul?  We would like to know the factors and the peoples who have influenced you immensely in the growing phase of your literary life.

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: POETRY Unites people. POETRY for me has different roles in my life. First, when I lost my father from cancer, I find myself writing because I always believe, I can communicate with him in heaven. It was my way to keep him alive in my life. But I use to write also when I was feeling happy about my personal achievements. POETRY is a way of making myself and others happy with themselves and be proud of their lives. POETRY is also therapeutic and we can stay strong and cure our fears by writing and reading others poets. My favourite poet was Giorgos Seferis, a Nobel literature winner poet who was writing in his own way and he has expressed openly his feelings and emotions. He was a very important diplomat and travel a lot. I have discovered so many deep secrets, that a human being can hide in his life. POETRY can hide the pain but at the same time has the power to eliminate it. I read also Rumi, I find his wisdom in a short poem about love or about God. I read also Livaditi, another Greek poet, so romantic soul who was worship the woman, the human and the love. I continue to read poems in several languages and although in some countries, we have different cultures and history, our feelings and dreams are the same We all looking for a stable life and people who will be close to us and they will love us as we are.

NILAVRONILL: Do you think the primary obligation of a poet should be to communicate with the temporal as well as with the eternal essence of life and the universe? If so, how can one fulfil that particular obligation?

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: A poet must be free and independent so he or she can communicate with the temporal as well as with the eternal essence of life and the universe. A human can achieve this obligation, only if he is completely honest to himself and accept his own responsibility to present the world and to criticise the bad things and behaviour of toxic people. We the poets, we are responsible for maintaining the balance in this world. We need to be the voices of Angels to forward their messages to humanity.

NILAVRONILL: It is an established fact that every poet should create his or her own poetic language as a unique literary signature that would eventually keep him or her alive beyond his or her time. I would like to know your personal experience in this regard, and how can one achieve that unique literary language in his or her lifetime?

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: Each human being has his personal digital and physical print. It's the same thing for the poet, each one of us has his personal experience and life beliefs, so when he will write poems, we will distinguish immediately his literary signature. We can all be witness and say with certainly if a poem belongs to this person or to another person only by reading a verse. And I am also certain about you dear friend NilavroNill, as I am certain about Rumi. That when someone will read your poem even if he doesn't see your signature, deep down he will know that he has read your poems. I believe we can achieve to create our unique literary signature, once we achieve to touch another person and inspire him to follow his dreams, as we did.

NILAVRONILL: Do you consider particular language, culture and nationality shape up the poet’s literary self? What is your personal experience being a Greek poet? I would like to understand how much and in what way your language, your culture as well as your nationality paved your literary self.

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: In Greece we read Homer from early age. We read about the adventures of Ulysses and Troia at the age of 7 or 8 We have the rhythm in our soul and body. We are writing and talking about philosophy and Poetry, literature and theatre everywhere and every day. I am a creator, according the meaning of the word POETRY means ποίηση, action and creation. Greece is the homeland of Poetry and the literature, the philosophy, the tragedy, the comedy. I am a poet because I am Greek and I am Greek because I am a poet. I found myself in POETRY and Poetry opened thousands of doors for me. In my heart and mind I have the poem of Sapfo, the first woman poet, the rhapsody and the Homer Greek language is given by Gods. We have learned to communicate with symbols and songs. We have learned to laugh and cry with verses In Greece everything is POETRY

NILAVRONILL: No literature can survive without communicating with different languages and cultures, as well as various literary and cultural traditions and heritages. I would like to know your opinion regarding the growth and evolution of Greek literature.

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: In my humble opinion, we have good authors who are playing a very important role in the evolution of Greek literature Greece also has inspired other countries and Greek poets and authors were also inspired by foreign poets. But there are many unknown voices who are very talented and they're hiding because they don't have the money to publish their own work and this is the misfortune of the artist...We have a very rich and important past in our literature. But in the modern Greek world unfortunately the poets follow a path who is full of noise and unexpected theories about life.

NILAVRONILL: Greek literature has a great heritage. I would like to know your viewpoints on the contemporary Greek literature. Where does it stand now in comparison with it’s past glory?

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: Greece had a great past. In Greece was born the literature, the poetry, the democracy Our great heritage gave the lights to every civilizations who grows Greece unfortunately has a very unfair system and this system touch the artists Because to publish a book in our times, it's very expensive So there's a certain elite who has access to publishing companies They exist so many talented voices who keep their poems hidden in the draws or they're choosing the auto publishing so they will edit their own books In Greece we have a certain circle of poets who are making the contemporary Greek literature but it's really so poor in ideas and moralities I don't belong in those circles I follow my own path as a mystical person and I am really very happy and proud that I have the privilege to be translated in several languages and have my poems traveling in so many different languages.

NILAVRONILL: Literature encompasses every aspect of life, it blends the various shades and textures of human aspirations as well as drawbacks. It also lights up the new horizons and new dimensions of human capabilities relentlessly. I would like to know your particular viewpoints; how do you relate all these in your own writings?

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: My life is Poetry and Poetry is my life. The past 15 years I have created a literary project called Poetry Unites people. Because in my life, all day I am leaving through Poetry and I promote peace with our words. In every Poem I can find the personality and the character of the poet. I am writing about life and my subject are based in everyday life not only in Greece but I am inspired from all over the world. We can't talk about happiness and abondance while the half of the planet is under occupation and Hunger. The half of the planet is a war zone. How can we live without thinking of this? My poems are always related with humans across the globe I have supported Ahmed Miqdad, a Palestinian from Gaza since the first bomb that touched the ground. We continue to exchange poems and thoughts even now This is my Poetry.

NILAVRONILL: We cannot live immune to the sociopolitical disturbances of our surroundings. How much these disturbances make substantial impacts upon your literary self? Do you actually respond to all these factors through your words? I mean in your poetry, especially.

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: I am human being. Of course, Everything I write is based in my feelings and emotions who are created by the person or the environment. We are part of this planet. We are all connected even if we don't understand it If i am happy, I write something very cheerful If I am not happy, I write something about God and life I never write sad words or sad verses. I believe our words have energy and they can touch human heart. I write because I hope

NILAVRONILL: Is it possible to put into the words everything that as a poet you wish to express literarily? If not, why?

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: I always put everything in words. I write every time about everything Yes.  We, the Poets are messengers We are here to bring peace and happiness

NILAVRONILL: How would you evaluate your contemporaries and what are your aspirations for or expectation from the younger generation?

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: It's with sadness I say that thing but in Greece, our younger generation is not reading at all. Like everywhere else the young ones are very occupied with their cellphone and social media who are responsible for their violent behaviour and a life full of violence and hate. Unfortunately, the younger generation for now they are interested only to make easy money and they have no ethics or values This is the destruction of our youngest ages.

NILAVRONILL: We are almost at the end of the interview. I remain obliged to you for your participation. Now, personally I would like to know your honest opinion about Our Poetry Archive. Since April 2015 we are publishing and archiving contemporary world poetry each and every month. Thank you for sharing your views and spending much time with us.

EVA PETROPOULOU LIANOU: I know Our POETRY Archive by my dear friend Honourable poet Maria Miraglia I read her poem and after I followed every month I read your poem and I found a very important message in each verse that you are published. I was very happy and honoured when I saw my poems to be published for the first time. I have suggested many Greek poets since 2018 and I am really proud and appreciated for being published and find a voice to this very important literary site. Many thanks to you, friend and editor NilavroNill and to your amazing editorial team.

 

EVA PETROPOULOU‑LIANOU, an award‑winning Greek children’s author and poet, is a Peace Ambassador and international literary representative. A journalist turned writer, she has published numerous books, contributed to global cultural projects, and earned major honors including Books for Peace (UNESCO) and the International Nelson Mandela Peace Award. She is a 2024 Nobel Peace Prize nominee.