A Taste of Greece, Poetry Reading (without Komninos, alas)

I chose a small programme of poems for my part of the "A Taste of Greece" event at Olives Et Al on 29 July, poems related to Greek food and drink. Apart from some of my own (from "Corfu Blues", the book), I selected the following great poems:

Ouzo Unclouded, Robert Graves
Autumn Supper, Demetrius Tsaloumas
Lemon Juice, Glyn Hughes
Country Workman, Glyn Hughes
Circe, Carol Ann Duffy

I would have included a poem by my Greek-Australian friend, Komninos, an extraordinary performance poet, cyber-poet, blues-shouting saz-player (Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon), cyber-studies academic and much more.

I didn't think all the members of the ('true-blue') English audience would have appreciated or relished the irony, but here's an excerpt from Komninos' "if i was the son of an englishman'

(Photograph of Komninos and Prince Charles in Australia by Effy Alexakis supplied by Komninos)

if i was the son of an englishman,

i'd really be an aussie...

i could even be prime-minister,

or comment on the footy.

if i was the son of an englishman,

i'd really be an aussie.

but my father eats salami,
and my mother she wears black,
my last name's papadopoulos,
and my first name's just plain jack.

if i was the son of an englishman,

i'd really be true-blue,

i could drink myself to delirium,

and glorify the spew...

but my father he drinks ouzo,
and my mother she wears black,
my last name's papadopoulos,
and my first name's just plain jack... 

Komninos talks about the poem

The Australian election outcome is still not certain. Next time round, vote "Komninos for PM!"