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Dimitris Tsaloumas Memorial Lecture:
Salvaging Cypriot Greek Migrant Heritage and Memories Through the Poetry of Zeny Giles and Peter Lyssiotis

 

This is a joint presentation with the Greek Australian Cultural League

Date: Thursday 14 September 2023 @ 7pm Melbourne
Location: Mezzanine, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Presenter: Angela Costi

Language of Presentation: English
Entry: FREE

 
 

Synopsis

 

Poetry is one way of documenting what is missed, excluded and neglected by institutionalised archives. Migrants and refugees who have a reliance on oral stories to record their existence, risk minimisation of their impact and contribution to the collective memory of Australia. In particular, the memories and heritage of Cypriot Greeks are historically recorded through the prism and value-system of two dominating cultures: a British-centric culture and an Hellenic culture. An alternative documentation of the Cypriot Greek, Australian-based diaspora, is through interviewing and studying the poetic output of Cypriot Greek poets.

Two Cypriot Greek poets and authors who have filled the archival gaps with their poetry are Zeny Giles and Peter Lyssiotis. Since the 1980s, both have amassed well-deserved awards and literary recognition for their creative output. Their poetry and the philosophy underpinning their writing, reveals a poetic biography of Cypriot Greek diaspora identity, one that is nuanced and significant.  

 
 
 
 
 
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