‘Winter Words’

 
Four days of poetry, performance and creative sparkle running from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 November across venues in Ledbury.
 

Celebrating imagination, creativity and community spirit, Winter Words celebrates the joy of words and coming together, uniting some of the UK’s most exciting voices on the poetry scene with plenty of free events and family fun.
 
Festival Highlights Include:
 
UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage shares his new collection, New Cemetery. Ledbury Poetry is offering Ledbury residents a FREE ticket to this event, but be quick, this offer ends on Monday, 3 November -  this project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
 
Carol Ann Duffy and John Sampson present Christmas Ghosts – a spookily enchanting evening of poetry and music. Your ticket includes mulled wine or apple juice.
 
Len Pennie, Sunday Times bestselling author and performance poet sensation, as seen on Instagram and YouTube, showcases her fiercely honest second collection, Poyums Annaw, confronting violence, patriarchy, and injustice with tenderness, quick wit, and righteous fury. 
 
Ledbury Poetry’s Community Steering Group, made up of local members of the community, have curated a series of events by and for the community, ranging from free sing-a-longs, card making and protest poetry with viral sensation Louise Fazakerley.

Βαγόνι και Ποίημα

 
Δεν το είχα ξανακάνει. Σε κάθε στάση έτρεχα από το ένα βαγόνι στο άλλο. Σκέφθηκα ότι θα με προσέξει ο μηχανοδηγός και θα κάνει καμμιά ανακοίνωση από τα μεγάφωνα του τραίνου.
 

Αλλά ήμουν αποφασισμένος. Ήθελα να βρω, να ελέγξω, να ανακαλύψω, να διαβάσω, να φωτογραφίσω... το Ποίημα σε κάθε βαγόνι!
 
Κάθε βαγόνι και Ποίημα!
 
Σε ένα από αυτά βρήκα το Ποίημα της παρούσας ανάρτησης... το... Τζάμι!
 
Είναι εξαιρετικά πρωτότυπο στιχούργημα της νεαρής (21 ετών) Σκωτζέζας (από το Εδιμβούργο) βραβευμένης Ποιήτριας Anna Gilmore Heezen, η οποία παρατηρεί με ευγένεια και γλυκύτητα μια οικιακή μύγα, μέσα στη ζέστη του Αυγούστου...
 
Βαγόνι, Ποίημα, διαλεκτική...

Γένεση στον Υπόγειο

 
Χρησιμοποίησα πρόσφατα το μετρό του Λονδίνου και στη γραμμή Jubilee βρήκα αναρτημένο το Ποίημα της παρούσας ανάρτησης.
 

Είναι το Ποίημα «Γένεση» του Gboyega Odubanjo, που περιλαμβάνεται στη σειρά «Ποιήματα στον Υπόγειο» και αποτελεί μέρος της συλλογής Καλοκαίρι 2025 και εξερευνά τη σχέση μεταξύ της ανθρωπότητας και του φυσικού κόσμου.
 
Το εν λόγω Ποίημα κυκλοφόρησε στο μετρό του Λονδίνου στις 2 Ιουνίου, σύμφωνα με την Poetry Society.
 
Αναγνώσεις ποιημάτων του Odubanjo, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της «Γένεσης», πραγματοποιήθηκαν στον σταθμό Covent Garden στις 11 Ιουνίου.
 
Ο Gboyega Odubanjo (30 Ιανουαρίου 1996 - Αύγουστος 2023) ήταν Βρετανο-Νιγηριανός ποιητής από το Νότιο Λονδίνο και απεβίωσε το 2023 σε νεαρή ηλικία.

Ο βασιλικός Ποιητής διαβάζει...

 

Ledbury Poetry Festival (27^th June - 6^th July 2025)

 

Στην Αγγλία υπάρχει ο θερμός του «βασιλικού Ποιητή» (Poet Laureate), ο οποίος αλλάζει κάθε λίγα χρόνια. Τα τελευταία χρόνια αυτή την εξαιρετικά τιμητική θέση κατέχει ο Simon Armitage.
 
Στο επικείμενο ετήσιο Φεστιβάλ Ποίησης στη μικρή πόλη Ledbury, στα δυτικά της Αγγλίας, ο εν λόγω Ποιητής θα παρουσιάσει (το Σάββατο 5 Ιουλίου, 8.00-9.00 μ.μ.) την τελευταία του Ποιητική συλλογή, με τον γενικό τίτλο «Dwell» και θα αναγνώσει αποσπάσματα.
 
Η νέα αυτή συλλογή βρίσκεται στον κατάλογο των 10 καλύτερων βιβλίων αυτής της εποχής, σύμφωνα με τους Κυριακάτικους Times.
 
Εμπνευσμένη από τους ανακαινισμένους Χαμένους Κήπους του Χέλιγκαν στην Κορνουάλη, αυτή η νέα συλλογή Ποιημάτων φωτίζει και επαναπροσδιορίζει τις ευφυείς, εύθραυστες κατοικίες των ζωντανών πλασμάτων γύρω μας. Χρησιμοποιώντας στοιχεία αινίγματος και λαογραφίας, ο Ποιητής δημιουργεί μια ζωντανή αφήγηση της «ασταμάτητης ζωής».
 
Όπως ένας κήπος παρέχει καταφύγιο για την άγρια ​​ζωή, έτσι και αυτά τα περίπλοκα ποιήματα προσφέρουν διαρκή κατοικία σε όσους κατοικούν μέσα στους στίχους τους.
 
Το βιβλίο είναι υπέροχα εικονογραφημένο και εμπλουτίζεται με έργα τέχνης που δημιούργησε η χαράκτρια Μπεθ Μάνρο.

Μνήμη Μπουμπουλίνας

 

Επέτειος 200 ετών από τον θάνατο της Λασκαρίνας Μπουμπουλίνας

 

Ο Οικουμενικός Ελληνισμός τίμησε χθες μια σημαντική, αν και θλιβερή, επέτειο, αυτή των 200 ετών από την αποφράδα ημέρα της δολοφονίας της Μπουμπουλίνας.
 
Η ιστορία έχει καταγράψει λεπτομερειακά τα στοιχεία του πλούσιου βιογραφικού της Καπετάνισσας. Εκείνο που ενδιαφέρει όλους τους Έλληνες είναι αποκλειστικά η τεράστια προσφορά της στην Πατρίδα.
 
Ο αυτοκράτορας Αλέξανδρος Α΄ απένειμε στην Μπουμπουλίνα τον τίτλο της Ναυάρχου του ρωσικού στόλου. Έτσι, έγινε η πρώτη γυναίκα Ναύαρχος του ρωσικού στόλου στην ιστορία της Ρωσίας και μια από τις πρώτες ναυάρχους στην παγκόσμια ιστορία.
 
Ο φίλος και εξαίρετος Ποιητής Richard Devereux έγραψε και αφιέρωσε το παρακάτω Ποίημα στη Μπουμπουλίνα. Η σύζυγός του Υβόννη δε, τράβηξε πέρσι στις Σπέτσες τη φωτογραφία της παρούσας ανάρτησης, που απεικονίζει το άγαλμα της Καπετάνισσας.
 
Bouboulina
 
Rear Admiral Laskarina Pinotsi (1771 – 22 May 1825)
 
The young widow watched two husbands die,
inheriting from each a merchant fleet.
 
Wedded, next, to the cause of Greece,
she launched a mighty man-of-war
 
and stood on the deck, cutlass raised,
ready to cut the Ottoman short.
 
Revolution, she said, was woman’s work –
like gutting fish and stirring stew.

Ode to Poseidon

 

A Poem by David Punter, Professor Emeritus of Poetry

 

Ι’ve met David Punter a while ago, at the Lansdown Poetic Club in Bristol. I immediately realised that he is an highly academic person, whose Poetry is of a very advanced level. Then I realised that he is Professor Emeritus of Poetry at the University of Bristol and his research interests range from eighteenth-century to contemporary literature, and he has written most extensively about the romantic and the Gothic. Apart from having served at various Universities, he is a renowned writer and a Poet, having published extensively on his academic fields, as well as five volumes of Poetry.
 
At a recent cultural event in Bristol, where our friend Richard Devereux had presented his latest Poetic collection “Echoes from the Cave”, David had read his Poem “Ode to Poseidon”, as that event in a way celebrated the Greek life, the Greek spirit, the Greek history and civilisation.
 
As I’ve heard it, I felt a calling to study this Poem more and possibly to translate it into Greek. I mentioned my wish to David and he agreed to allow this to happen.
 
Because of my heavy work-load and my very busy programme, it took me ages to find the appropriate time and space to work on this Poem. I eventually did and I was very pleased that I had completed the task. Then I shared the translation with our friend Richard, who had studied carefully both the original Poem and the translation. After we both agreed on certain adjustments, we now have the final version of the translation and we are quite satisfied with it.
 
Here is the original Poem:
 
Ode to Poseidon
 
O Poseidon, son of Rhea and Cronos,
called by the Latin poets Saturnius.
 
Brother of Zeus and Hades,
called by lot to rule over the vast seas.
 
Like your brothers and sisters, swallowed
by your father Cronos, but life again followed.
 
Equal in dignity to Zeus, no lower,
though always lesser in power.
 
Resentful of Zeus’ attempts to intimidate,
incurrer of your mighty brother’s hate.
 
Conspirator with Hera and Athena, his sisters and betters
to put the supreme god in fetters.
 
Your palace is in the depths of the sea and there of old
you keep your horses with brazen hooves and manes of gold
 
When you ride in your chariot over the waves they dance
and become smooth to your advance.
 
The monsters of the deep play around your coach
and the great whales bow at your approach.
 
For Laomedon you built the walls of Troy
but he betrayed you, treated you as a toy.
 
So you sent a sea monster to devour his daughter
but it was killed in Heracles’ general slaughter.
 
Ulysses rendered your son Polyphemus blind
rendering your undying hatred unbound.
 
You created the horse; or, perhaps, when idle,
you taught the art of managing horses by the bridle.
 
You had many, many children - Triton, Rhode and Benthesicyme
are among those we remember and celebrate to this day.
 
Your sacrifices are bulls both black and white;
but also the wild boars and rams of fate.
 
Your trident you use to shatter rocks with a curse,
to subdue storms or to shake the earth.
 
Yours then, O Poseidon, is the great power
of the natural world to challenge and shatter
all our assumptions of stable matter;
in your hands and at the point of a feather
are earthquake, tsunami, cataclysmic weather;
you are the god to be propitiated for ever,
not to be polluted, so that the avenger
may not rise up green and terrible in his anger
and bury our puny human concerns in terror
beneath the roaring oceans where your power
and your palaces have obtained for time and time over
immemorial and will continue long after
our race is run, an end has come to our grandeur.
 

And the translation into Greek:
 
Ωδή στον Ποσειδώνα
 
Ω Ποσειδών, γιε της Ρέας και του Κρόνου,
Saturnius σε λένε οι Λατίνοι ποιητές.
 
Του Δία αδελφέ και του Άδη,
τις απέραντες θάλασσες να κυβερνήσεις εκληρώθης.
 
Όπως τα αδέρφια και τις αδερφές σου, σε κατάπιε
ο πατέρας σου ο Κρόνος, αλλά η ζωή πήρε το δρόμο της ξανά.
 
Ισότιμος σε αξιοπρέπεια με τον Δία, όχι κατώτερος,
αν και πάντα μικρότερος σε δύναμη.
 
Αγανακτισμένος από τις εκφοβιστικές ενέργειες του Δία,
το μίσος του πανίσχυρου αδελφού σου υφιστάμενος.
 
Συνωμότης με την Ήρα και την Αθηνά, τις αδερφές και τις ανώτερές του,
δέσμιο να εκλωβίσει τον υπέρτατο θεό.
 
Στα βάθη της θάλασσας βρίσκεται το παλάτι σου κι εκεί παλαιόθεν
κρατάς τα άλογά σου με χάλκινες οπλές και χαίτη χρυσαφένια.
 
Όταν καβαλάς στο άρμα σου πάνω από τα κύματα αυτά χορεύουν
και ομαλοποιούνται καθώς προελαύνεις.
 
Του βυθού τα τέρατα παιχνιδίζουν γύρω από την άμαξά σου
και οι μεγάλες φάλαινες υποκλίνονται καθώς πλησιάζεις.
 
Για τον Λαομέδοντα έχτισες της Τροίας τα τείχη
μα εκείνος σε πρόδωσε, σαν παιχνίδι σε μεταχειρίστηκε.
 
Έτσι έστειλες ένα θαλάσσιο τέρας την κόρη του να καταβροχθίσει
αλλά σκοτώθηκε στου Ηρακλή τη γενική σφαγή.
 
Ο Οδυσσέας τύφλωσε τον γιο σου τον Πολύφημο
το αθάνατο μίσος σου καθιστώντας αδέσμευτο.
 
Εσύ το άτι εφηύρες· ή, ίσως, όταν βρισκόσουν σε πλήξη,
δίδαξες την τέχνη της διαχείρισης των αλόγων με το χαλινάρι.
 
Είχες πολλά, πολλά παιδιά - ο Τρίτων, η Ρόδη και η Βενθεσικύμη
είναι από αυτά που θυμόμαστε και μέχρι σήμερα εξυμνούμε.
 
Οι θυσίες σου είναι ταύροι, μαύροι κι άσπροι.
Ακόμα δε αγριόχοιροι και κριάρια της μοίρας.
 
Την τρίαινά σου χρησιμοποιείς για να συντρίψεις βράχους με μια κατάρα,
να υποτάξεις καταιγίδες ή να ταρακουνήσεις τη γη.
 
Δική σου λοιπόν, ω Ποσειδώνα, η μεγάλη δύναμη
του φυσικού κόσμου αμφισβήτηση και συντριβή
όλων των υποθέσεων μας για ύλη σταθερή.
Στα χέρια σου και στην άκρη του φτερού
είναι σεισμός, τσουνάμι, κατακλυσμικός καιρός.
Είσαι ο θεός που πρέπει πάντα να εξευμενίζεσαι,
να μη μιανθείς, ώστε ο εκδικητής
να μην ξεσηκωθεί πράσινος και τρομερός από θυμό
και θάψει με τρόμο τις αδύναμες ανθρώπινες ανησυχίες μας
κάτω από τους ωκεανούς που βρυχώνται όπου η δύναμή σου
και τα παλάτια σου έχουν αποκτηθεί με το πέρασμα
αμνημόνευτων χρόνων και θα συνεχιστούν για πολύ ακόμα
ο αγώνας μας έχει ολοκληρωθεί, το μεγαλείο μας έχει τελειώσει.
 
This captivating Poem will definitely have a new independent life in Greek, which according to Cicero it is “the language of the gods”, while according to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is like “a bright star in the night”.
 
I am happy to have worked on this project and to present into the Greek speaking world such an eloquent and inspiring Poet and his Poem, which compliments the Hellenic Poetic spirit.
 
Note: The statue of Poseidon on this post is found at the centre of Bristol. Recognisable holding a trident in his right hand, while holding the tail of a big fish struggling to free itself in the left hand.

Peace Poem

 
The winning poem in the Mist and Mountain International Poetry Prize on the theme of ‘peace’ is ‘Beirut’ written by Richard Devereux, a member of the Community of Apostles Peter and Paul, Bristol. He has never visited Lebanon. There are no limits on how far imagination can fly. Warm congratulations to Richard on winning this prestige Poetry Prize.
 

Α dove of peace flying the flag of Lebanon

Beirut  
 
I fell in love with you that spring
the bombing stopped. The trees welcomed peace
with such a sigh, with such a blossoming and
promises of such a weight of fruit.
 
I pushed your soft-top out and washed away
the dust, tinkered with the plugs and carb
till she fired up and we set sail along
the ocean road, your hair full to the wind.
 
I remember, we turned off into the hills.
How pleased your father was we had come
to see him. I reminded him of himself, he said,
when he was young, and you reminded him
 
of your mother. He knew both love and peace
are sometimes gone as soon as they arrive.

Exploring the Grecian journey

 

“Echoes from the Cave”

Presentation of the new Poetic collection of Richard Devereux

 

Yesterday we had the privilege to attend a very exceptional and inspiring kind of event, where Richard our good friend and cowalker in the paths of Poetry, had presented at the Commonwealth House in Bristol his new Poetic collection. It was an amazing evening, filled with Poetic verses, Greek and English music, dancing, delicious Greek food (prepared by Yvonne, Richard’s good wife), excellent Greek wine, as well as with warm feelings of friendship and respect.
 
I was kindly offered the chance to say a few words and here they are:
 

I feel quite privileged and honoured to have been asked by Richard to say a few words at the presentation of his new Poetic collection, entitled with the mysterious, profound and even mystical phrase: “Echoes from the Cave”, while the sub-title is: “a fifty-year love affair with Greece”!

 
In regards to the title, I can assure you all that I have myself heard and experienced -in a supernatural way- the “ECHOES from THE CAVE”, that have been, not simply produced but, radiated, by the mind and the soul of Richard Devereux, a man of great Poetic talent, of undoubted literary intellect and of high human integrity.

“A fifty-year love affair”, to me, is not just spending some holidays now and then in Greece, neither reading a book about Greece, her history, archaeology, mythology etc. It is rather building a bridge between two great nations, namely Britain and Hellas.
 

With the publication of this new Poetic collection, I personally feel that I am actually standing here and right now on this majestic, iconic and graceful bridge.

Allow me please to share a personal experience with you. Years ago, I was coming from London and going to Cardiff. In the car there was a retired captain of the Greek Merchant Navy, who had enormously missed the sea. We were passing over the Severn Bridge and suddenly he exclaimed with joy and anticipation: “please open the window, I want to feel the breeze of the ocean and smell the scent of the sea”.
 

I have a similar feeling right now! Richard’s Poetry, as a literary bridge, brings together and intertwines the echoes from the Aegean islands and the fragrance of the Celtic seas. 
 

When I firstly read the echoing Poems, I thought that there is a dialectic which is being built there and brings into the same stadium (like the one in Olympia, where Richard had recently run, across the same length as the Ancient Greeks) the old and the new, the earliest and the modern, the historic and the contemporary. In any case, one meets this dialectic wherever they go in the Hellenic places.
 

Richard likes conversing -in the realm of his Poetry- with original creators of Poetry, like the Philhellene Lord Byron and Constanine Cavafy. Greek words embellish his verses, while humour permeates the lines. His sensitive Poetic soul cannot stand the “killing of so many flowers” and his elegant work acts like a lasting defence of lyricism, in the following verses: “fields of sea stretched out”, “In an olive grove, I grade the shades of silence”, “debating the dialectic of love”, as well as everywhere!
 

I am absolutely convinced that my thoughts and words are very poor in presenting to you accurately the power of Richard’s Poetic work. It is only his actual Poems that are able enough and highly gifted to convey this feeling of true artistic creation.
 

Thus, I shall read to you now a Richardian Poem that I have translated into Greek and have included it in my latest Poetic collection. It is one of the best Poems that I have ever read. It’s title: “Winter on Athos”! I shall read it to you in the Greek translation. Those who do not understand Greek, just close your eyes and get the feel of it…
 

Χειμώνας στον Άθωνα
 
Καθώς ο Χειμώνας ανοίγει διάπλατα την αγκαλιά του
Να αγκαλιάσει και να διατηρήσει το Άγιο Όρος,
Η χιονοθύελλα εμποδίζει και επιβραδύνει
Την ανάληψη των Προσευχών του Ιησού στον Ουρανό.
 
Η χιονόπτωση είναι πυκνή. Τοίχοι χτισμένοι για να κρατηθούν
Οι πειρατές έξω, τώρα ζωσμένοι και μονωμένοι
Ενάντια στη λεηλασία του ανελέητου ψύχους
Που απειλεί να αρπάξει τους αδύναμους και ηλικιωμένους.
 
Ένας πεινασμένος λύκος κατεβαίνει επιφυλακτικά
Και κλείνει το μονοπάτι προς το κελί ενός ερημίτη.
Οι κραυγές των τσακαλιών σχίζουν την ησυχία της νύχτας
Οι πνιγμένες όχθες των απόκρημνων χαραδρών.
 
Σε μια από τις οποίες έπεσε ο Leigh Fermor,
Και δεν ήταν καν είκοσι ακόμα. Μίλησε με τον Θάνατο
Αλλά ένας φύλακας άγγελος τον έβγαλε έξω
Και τον παρέδωσε σε μια βρυχώμενη εστία.
 
Πάνω από τις κεραμιδένιες σκεπές, υψώθηκαν,
Τους περασμένους χειμώνες, ψηλοί καπνοί,
Απαλό γκρι ενάντια στο λευκό, από φωτιές
Όπου τα δάχτυλα άνοιγαν πλατιά για να ζεσταθούν.
 
Νεαροί μικρόσχημοι μοναχοί και δόκιμοι,
Όταν το χιόνι κείται παχύ, είναι και πάλι παιδιά -
Κάποιος ξεκινά έναν αγώνα χιονοπόλεμου
Και τα μαύρα ράσα σύντομα γεμίζουν με άσπρες κηλίδες.
 
Αυτό που χρειάζονται είναι ένας φίλος χιονάνθρωπος:
Ένας αρπάζει ένα φτυάρι, ένας άλλος ένα καρότο
Και ένας θρασύς τολμά να κρεμάσει
Το μαύρο επανωκαλύμμαυχο ενός μοναχού στο παγωμένο στέμμα.
 
Αλλά δεν έχουν την ευλογία του Ηγουμένου.
Αυτό σημαίνει μπελάδες. Εκείνος έχει δει τα παιχνίδια τους.
Κι αποφάσισε να στρέψει το βλέμμα του αλλού,
Σίγουρος πως κι ο Θεός χαμογελάει επίσης.
 

Allow me to finish by saying that, to the worthy readers of this collection, I do not simply recommend some nice or even lyrical verses, I propose them to enjoy the abundance of light which is being radiated from the sky of Richard’s soul!
 
Tasos Vyzantios

A slave in Bristol and a Roman General

 

Scipio was a black slave who died aged 18 in 1720. His grave is in Henbury churchyard, Bristol (about 2 miles from Westbury, on the edge of the Blaise estate). I walked there one day recently and took these photographs.

 

His grave has these two charming headstones.

 

Clearly the owner of the slave had had a classical education as would have been the norm for men of his class at that time.

 

The slave was named after Scipio Africanus, a Roman General (White bust without nose).

 

There is much to admire in Scipio the General; he returned the girl he was offered as a prize of war to her father and returned the ransom the father had paid. He was in a position to carry out atrocities at Carthage but didn't and let their defeated leader retain some power. This was very much also the style of Alexander the Great.

 

My following poem tells the story of the General's life and also describes his own grave - such a contrast to the slave's.

 

Scipio Africanus

Publius Cornelius Scipio

 

INGRATA PATRIA

NE OSSA QUIDEM HABEBIS

 

When offered, as a prize of war,

A girl betrothed to a local chieftain,

He spurned the beauty and returned

Intact both her and her father’s ransom.

 

A General at twenty; at thirty, Consul;

Conqueror of Hispania;

Victor of Hannibal at Zama –

Whence the agnomen Africanus.

 

Though Carthage lay at his mercy,

He declined to raze the city

And allowed his noble foe to continue

As Sufet of the Council.

 

The Populus Romanus clamoured:

Make Scipio Africanus

Consul for Life and Dictator.

He demurred and retired to Liternum.

 

Then war broke out with the Seleucids.

Shaking off his life of ease,

Scipio roused himself, went out

And routed Antiochus at Magnesia.

 

But, in espousing the mores of Graecia,

He was judged unsound and unreliable.

Envious of his successes, Cato

Brought groundless charges.

 

Done with Rome, Scipio went back home

And instructed his tombstone be inscribed  

 

UNGRATEFUL FATHERLAND

YOU SHALL NOT EVEN HAVE MY BONES

 

Such a modest tomb, it has not been found.

 

Richard Devereux

Echoes from the Cave

 
I was very happy to receive recently, on New Year’s Day 2025, the new Poetic collection of Richard Devereux, a very remarkable person, an incredible friend and an inspirational human being.
 

The title of this new collection of his is: Echoes from the Cave. Subtitle: A fifty - year love affair with Greece.
 
It was firstly published on 2025 by Stephen Morris, with ISBN: 978-1-0683039-0-6. Pages: 96. The book is dedicated by Richard to his grandchildren.

 
The collection is divided into three parts, namely: Young Love, Islands and Strands. The book also contains a Glossary and Acknowledgements, as well as a few words about the Poet and two short texts (one of them is mine) on the outside back cover.

 
Richard’s Poetic collection is a true testament to the depth of his heart and the beauty of your mind. Each word he writes seems to echo his kindness, wisdom, and the unique perspective he brings to the world.

 
An Oxonian lawyer who loves Greece and has become a great Philhellene, visiting Greece frequently over the past 50 years, studying her history, way of life, customs and the Orthodox Christian traditions, captures in the verses of his Poems, with his inspired pen, his experiences, knowledge, acquaintances and multiple Greek interests.

 
The Poet has a rare gift, being able to translate emotions into Poetry, that resonates with anyone who reads it. His ability to capture the essence of life's joys and struggles with such grace is inspiring.

 
I'm so proud of Richard and his work, for pouring his soul into these pages, and even more proud to call him my friend. His creativity and authenticity have the power to touch lives in profound ways, and I feel this is just the beginning of a journey filled with even more incredible creations.
 
May this collection open new doors for Richard, and may it continue to reflect the beautiful spirit that makes him such a special person. His success is well-deserved, and I can’t wait to see where his Poetic journey takes him next!

 
For the readers of this blog, I share on this post only one of the fifty Poems of this collection, which I think is one the best Poems I have ever read in my whole life.
 
In Greek we would say for this Poetic collection: καλοτάξιδη!
 
Tasos Vyzantios

Ποιητικό Φεστιβάλ Ledbury

 
Ο Οργανισμός του Ποιητικού Φεστιβάλ Ledbury της Αγγλίας προετοιμάζει το επόμενο μεγάλο και Διεθνές Φεστιβάλ, το οποίο θα λάβει χώρα το ερχόμενο καλοκαίρι, 27 Ιουνίου - 6 Ιουλίου 2025.
 

Ledbury Poetry Festival is an inclusive, international and inspirational celebration of poetry and spoken word over ten fabulously busy days, live in Ledbury and online to the world.
 
Surrounded by orchards and hills, poets from all over the world gather to read, debate and share their work with readers and curious audiences. Award-winning poets stand alongside upcoming talents in a thrillingly electric mix of events and workshops, music, exhibitions and bike rides.
 
It’s all yours in #ledburypoetrytown. Dig deep into interesting ideas, take in poetry over a pint, craft your own writing style, or showcase your skills in the slam.

Ποίημα για τις Όρνιθες του Αριστοφάνη

 

Ο φίλος και συνοδοιπόρος στο μονοπάτι της Ποίησης Ριχάρδος Devereux, νομικός, λογοτέχνης και Φιλέλληνας, περιηγήθηκε το φετινό καλοκαίρι την Πελοπόννησο και ιδιαίτερα την Αργολίδα. Μεταξύ άλλων επισκέφθηκε το θέατρο της Επιδαύρου και απόλαυσε το έργο του Αριστοφάνη Όρνιθες. Η επίσκεψη στο θέατρο εκτός των άλλων απέδωσε και το παρακάτω όμορφο στιχούργημα, για το οποίο τον συγχαίρουμε εγκάρδια.

 

The Birds
          Aristophanes
 
As nature dims the lights on a summer’s day,
the audience take their limestone seats for the play.
 
The birds convene at dusk – they’ve heard enough
of pompous politicians strutting their stuff
 
and now they’ve over-reached themselves once more –
a colony in Sicily, indeed, while still at war
 
with Sparta! They mask their lies with weasel words,
but tonight they meet their nemesis – the birds!
 
Jackdaw, nightingale, owl, chiff chaff, blue tit,
halcyon, eagle, throstle, magpie, pee wit
 
all tune their squawks, their warbles, caws and trills,
rehearse their scales, arpeggios and drills
 
and sing out loud: Man must understand
it’s time to move to Cloud Cuckoo Land.
 
Epidavros, August 2024