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After a visit to Stockholm, Amy Mims (translator of Kazantzakis and Ritsos, etc) kindly sent me a photocopy of Kevin Andrews' poem "Byzantine Blues" (Nicosia, 1980) and other works ("First Will and Testament", Athens 1974) and "Byron in a Capsule for a Coffee Break" (Athens 1990). I already had two books, "The Flight of Ikaros, Travels in Greece During a Civil War" (1959) and "Greece in the Dark" (Amsterdam, 1980), as well as his essay "Expatriation to Excess: No Blame" (The Southeastern Review, Athens, vol 1, no 1).
'Byzantine Blues, a Cradle-Song for Neodemocracy', was written in Athens in May 1979.
What sort of sequel to Byzantine Blues might Kevin Andrews have written if he'd been alive today?
Kevin Andrews (1924-1989) made the choice to become a naturalized Greek citizen (in 1975). He was drowned off Kythira, while swimming to Avgo islet, on 1 September, 1989.
His satrirical poem, Byzantine Blues, was about Prime Minister Karamanlis (this is a short extract):
"And for Greece's gentility total stability -
who (I ask you!) can give it but he?
For our freedom from tanks, plus the health of our banks
no one else is 'The Sole Guarantee'.
We read it in headlines, we see it on film,
we hear it all day on TV,
and electoral posters of him at the helm
(that are seldom removed) all agree
with the praise in the Press, and the priests as they bless
both us and the Powers-that-Be
that - to balance our budget of national pride -
a liberal lather of OMO and TIDE
has washed all our brains out to sea....
with a programme to pinch where it's heartily felt,
and Austerity Plans for uncritical fans,
and his message to Management: Loosen the belt...
The voice of the people, the voice of God,
a whisper in somebody's ear....
will remind how in Greece an election, or friend,
can sometimes be won and may often depend
on generous help from abroad."
No prizes for a 2012 update of Byzantine Blues, but why not have a go?
On Kevin Andrews, Elizabeth Boleman-Herring - A Farewell to Ikaros
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