Andreas Embirikos on Andros: Madalenia - An Impromptu Reading; Embeirikos; "'Η Μανταλένια' του Ανδρέα Εμπειρίκου

Sotiria Papamargariti reads Madalenia - 'Η Μανταλένια' του Ανδρέα Εμπειρίκου

"I was at Nimborio, on one of the beaches of Andros...On my right, the town of Andros was still asleep. On my left, the road to Stenies, the largest maritime village on the island, was deserted. I remember that the smell of lemon trees was very strong; very strong and indescribably marvellous..." (translation Nikos Stangos and Alan Ross).

Which figurehead would make the best Madalenia?

More of Andreas Embirikos

Another recommended story:

Νεοπτόλεμος Α΄, Βασιλεύς των Ελλήνων

The last page (English translation)

Illustration for Madalenia, Minos Argyrakis

London, 1966

"The narrator, dropping asleep under a tree, finds himself, after a sensation of falling, on his native island of Andros (also Embiricos' island)....Above the prow of the boat he distinguishes a sculpted mermaid or gorgon. To his amazement, she is alive, she breathes..." from the introduction to the Alan Ross edition (London, 1966), by Nanos Valaoritis.

From "The Overcoat":

Suddenly, a voice was heard. One of the philosophers was saying: 'When a man moves away from prevailing habits and traditions, he looks like a pillar of salt'... Another philosopher - the third in a row- cried out anxiously: 'O, daughters of Lot! O, pillars of salt, among beauties of Corfu!'

"The Night of Memory: Andreas Embiricos and the Optical Unconscious", Eduardo Cadava, Princeton University

Andreas Embirikos, Delos, 1955 (photograph)