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T
he Cultural Services of the Ministry of
Education and Culture recently announced the
results of the national literary competition for the
State Prizes for Literature (for publications of 2013).
The Minister of Education and Culture, Costas
Kadis, presented the winners with their awards in
a special ceremony that was held on 2 December
2014 at the Pallas Theatre in Nicosia.
The ceremony opened with a performance by the
CyprusYouth Symphony Orchestra and addressed
by Minister Kadis.
Poetry
By a majority decision of the
Judging Committee, the State
Prize for Poetry published
in 2013 was awarded
to Eleni Kefala for her
work
Chronorrafia
(Stitching
Time) by Nefeli Publications.
The collection of poems
brings together the virtues of a bold experiment.
The poet seems to explore the limits of poetic
expression, replacing the voice of the lyrical text
with polyphony, through a particularly interesting
synthesis in which voices, eras, cultures and
historic moments are entwined. The architecture
of
Chronorrafia
is characterised by reflection and
intertextuality. An anonymous and almost illiterate
Cypriot meets Christopher Columbus and his
companions,thenativesoftheCaribbean,JohnKnox
and the Scottish Reformers, Miguel de Cervantes
and Rembrandt and many others, people more or
less well-known from Greek and world history and
literature. Ships which travel the seas of the world,
with passengers and crews from far and wide carry
the diachronic and inter-cultural message of poetry
as the preserver of memory, not of the famous but of
the anonymous. This poetical composition by Eleni
Kefala creates a multi-prismatic mirror of the fate
of the obscure in all corners of the world, while at
the same time its creativity stirs the imagination of
readers and makes them participants in the journeys
2014 Cyprus State Prizes for Literature
Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra
The winners pick up their awards
of the imagination through time. The exceptionally
well-presented publication, which makes use of
ideograms and an original arrangement of the
texts, gives additional stimulus to the reader. A road
between sky and earth…
Poetry Shortlist
Chronorrafia,
by Eleni Kefala
Chreografo
(Security), by Soteris P. Varnava
(Gavrielides publications)
Agapimene
(Beloved), by Mona Savvidou
Theodoulou (Afi Publications)
Siopiloi Traumatioforeis
(Silent Paramedics), by
Stephanos Stavrides (Farfoulas Publications)
Dromos Metaxi Ouranou ke Gis
(Road between
Heaven and Earth), by George Christodoulides
(Farfoulas Publications)
Novel
The Judging Committee
decided by majority that
the State Prize for a Novel
published in 2013 would be
awarded to Andreas Karayian
for his work
Skoteines Istories
(Dark Stories) by Estia
Bookshop Publications.
AndreasKarayian’s novel
Skoteines Istories
belongs
in the tradition of formation novels (bildungsroman),
a genre which is rare in the Greek language.
In
Skoteines Istories
the protagonist, an imaginary
person with autobiographical elements which we
have met in other books by Andreas Karayian, is a
sensitive and adventurous artist who is seeking the
truth of art and life itself by travelling. His travels
take him to Berlin after the wall has come down,
to post-1974 Athens and to post-revolutionary
Alexandria. In these wanderings, the dominating
demand for authenticity in art, friendship and love
dictates his steps.Through the confessional character
of the narrative, the author constructs his own theory
of the cosmos, elevating the erotic union of soul and
body, beyond social conventions and guilt, to a great
good. The novel, deeply philosophical and political,
opposes the mechanisms of power which attempt
to control erotic desire and sexuality and tries to
demolish social stereotypes in order to promote
respect for Diversity.
Novel Shortlist
Skoteines Istories, by
Andreas Karayian
Meli gia tin Kyra
(Honey for the Lady), by Vivian
Avraamidou-Ploumbis (Alexandria Publications)
Choris Pyxida
(Without a Compass), by Andreas
Keleshis
