2024-04-11 04:35:17
An event for the presentation of Alexandra Samothraki’s novel “Psychostasia” is organized by Isnafi publications on Wednesday, April 10, at 7.30 pm, at Thymomeno Portraito (Kapodistriou 20).
It is a humorous/ detective/ grotesque novel set in Athens. His heroes and heroines are “misunderstood” writers, paranoid poets, would-be Nobel laureates. Literary critics, magazine editors, newspaper publishers and others in the book market take part in the narration. The central figure is Damianos Andreou, a vitriolic literary critic (he usually judges without reading the books so as not to spoil his taste, as he says), who falls in love with a sexy persona, Darcy Papalexandrou, who moves with ease among would-be suitors other infamous writers and editors. The story begins and ends with a series of murders. The poet Lambropoulos was the first to be murdered and the second was Soursos, editor of the newspaper “O Kleidokratoras”, seriously injured, while a terrorist organization with the disco title “Yafka 1968” set fire to his newspaper. More murders will follow. At the funeral of the victims there is always a wreath with Homeric verses, which, however, contain in various versions the word “Kir”. Andreou will try to solve these murders from one side, with Darcy as his sidekick, while opposite him will be the policeman Karamalakos, who suspects Damianos of being a murderer. The text runs quickly interspersed with many barbs about the writing establishment, so many that you think it has probably been written about this topic. The author known for her humorous texts in the Reader revels in it, giving spartan humorous pages.
Panos Zois and Yiannis Paschos will talk about the book, but since the latter happens to be Alexandra’s favorite author, the discussion is expected not to be limited to her own book.
Alexandra Samothraki was born in Athens in 1980. She is a graduate of the Economics Department of ASOEE and holds postgraduate degrees in Publishing from City University of London and in European Theater from the University of Kent. In 2001, he was chosen by Stratis Haviaras, among more than 210 candidates, to take part in his first Writing Workshop, ever organized in Greece by EKEVI, based on Harvard’s equivalent Writing the Novel.
In 2011, her play Yafka Yasemi received an honorary distinction from the National Theater and was promoted to the recital (director: Elena Karakoulis, distribution: M. Kitsou, D. Papanikolaou, G. Tsavaras, M. Oikonomou, N. Kouri). In 2012, her play Pharmakos was also staged at the National Theater in analog form (directed by: Katerina Berdeka, distributed by: K. Markoulakis, A. Vloutis, P. Mouzourakis et al.).
Since 2010, he has regularly and irregularly collaborated with the online magazine for books and the arts oanagnostis.gr (formerly Diavazo), where he maintains the humorous column Hemimethis Kai Gustaro and writes book reviews, opinion articles and interviews only about the books he likes, which is unfortunate given her semi-literacy.
Her texts and translations have also been published in Vima tis Kyriaki, Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia, Enteuktiri, Diasticho, and the trade magazine Accountancy.
She is married and has two children. She lives in her world.