On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Coltson Hall, American School of Classics, at 5:00 p.m. until 20.00 pm “Event 100 years “Life in the grave” STRATIS MYRIVILIS (The book of war) was held. It was co-organized by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and ESTIA publications.
On the occasion of this event, we approached the granddaughter of S.M. writer Christina Angelopoulou to tell us about her famous grandfather.
How do you feel about being the granddaughter of Stratis Myrivilis?
I feel very lucky to have had a fabulous grandfather.
What do you remember most about your grandfather?
As a child I sat on his lap and traveled with his voice through the worlds he described to me. With my imagination I brought to life the heroes of a never-ending fairy tale and gave them substance. Later I realized how much my grandfather’s presence in my life influenced and shaped my character and personality.
At what age did you start reading SM’s books?
From a very young age, my grandfather used to read The Argonaut to me. His only book for children that I now also read to my grandchildren. As a teenager I had read most of his works.
Were you confided in any facts about how you wrote the novel Life in the Grave?
No, I was too young for such serious talk. He did not want to burden the innocent soul of a child with the atrocities of war.
S.M. fought from 1912 to 1922. Did this event affect his character and his life?
It must have had an effect on him. But he managed to exorcise it. In fact, growing up, what impressed me is how this man who lived through the cruelty and darkness of war did not convey a trace of sadness, anger and fear to his twelve-year-old granddaughter. In his own way, he showed me the values of life and the beauty of nature.
The year 2024 marks one hundred years since the publication of the novel Life in the Grave. What does this event mean to you?
I consider Life in the Grave to be a fresh and lively anti-war novel. Its subject matter, its lyrical style and its well-crafted language make it one of the most important books, not only in Greece but also for the whole of European literature. It is no coincidence that it has been translated into 27 languages.
How did this particular novel manage to stand the test of time?
Myrivilis has written this particular book not from the dark and heavy tragedy of the war, but as a love song about nature and the life that he himself loved so much. His hero was not afraid of his death in the trench and while bombs were exploding around him, he was discovering the magical gift that life sent him… which was nothing but a small, humble, red, secret poppy.
Is it easy to adapt a successful novel to TV and make it a series?
I don’t think it’s easy, but it’s not impossible either. However, I believe that the director of a book is the reader himself who creates with his imagination, the action of what he reads.
I read that SM had a file. What does it really contain?
His basic file has been donated by my family to the Gennadio Library since the 1990s. It is kept there in perfect conditions. Most of it has been digitized and scholars have access to it. Of course, when I lost my mother in 2013, who was his second daughter and the only one alive until then, I found another small file of Myrivilis in our house. Personal this time mostly with family letters and photos. Anecdotal manuscripts, vignettes, radio broadcasts and poems. And this file will be given as a donation to the Gennadio Library, as soon as its processing is completed.
Are young people today reading the works of Stratis Myrivilis?
Yes, young people read and are inspired by his work. I have noticed in recent years how touching and moving are the restless heroes who jump out of the lifeless pages of his books. Old familiar forms on new editions, Greek and foreign. As well as young artists, directors and creators, but also young high school and high school kids to be inspired and communicate his word with passion and respect. This really moves me and gives me hope and optimism for the future.