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Thanos Stathopoulos will participate as a guest artist in Georgia Sagri’s mini-retrospective exhibition at the Kunstverein Braunschweig, one of Germany’s most renowned art institutions. In the exhibition entitled “Georgia Sagri”, the author of La Folie will present a video featuring excerpts from his new poetry collection entitled “The Hour” | “Die Stunde” | “Die Stunde”, which is due to be published by Ikaros next March.  The exhibition will open on Friday 1 December and run until Sunday 11 February 2018.

The popular American author, George Saunders, immediately after his book ‘Forgetfulness and Lincoln’ was awarded the 2017 Booker Prize, gave an exclusive interview to LIFO and Dionysis Marinos. You can read it below:  Mr Saunders, are you the same person you were before the Booker? Has the prize changed you in any way?I hope I am the same. My self-admiration is already beginning to wane in a quiet way. What is the real prize for a writer? To develop confidence in his vision. In this way, as you move forward, you can strive with greater intensity to create beautiful things. Is it acceptance, admiration or the struggle with words that drives you to embark on the process of writing a book? Honestly, all of the above. But the moment I’m writing, the moment I’m in the midst of developing a book, those things come last. The most important thing is the feeling that you’re creating a coherent world that emerges from chaos. And it is that feeling that something like this came ‘from’ you and ‘because of’ you. In reality, my self disappears momentarily or is neutralised by the artistic work: that is Paradise.    We know you as a short-story writer. You have been accepted as one of the ‘artists’ of the genre in contemporary American literature. What made you write a novel? Every story dictates for itself how it should be written. For a long time I had decided to abandon any attempt to write a novel – I might even say I felt proud of that. I had accepted that I was a fan of the short form. However, I discovered that this particular story was so moving that as soon as I started writing, it was as if a mind (and a DNA) distinct from my own emerged from within it.  And now that you’ve completed your first novel, and a successful one at that, will you return to short stories? Yes, I will. That’s where I belong. I love the short form. If another novel comes along in the future, I think it will arrive in the same way this one did – insisting, despite my own objections, that it must expand and become longer.      Do you find it easier to write short stories, or is it actually harder given that you have to be precise in such a limited space? Sorry, but do you feel you have to be precise? No, I don’t need to be precise, I don’t think so. On the other hand, perhaps, yes, you do have to be concise. The difficulty with short stories is that they behave like a joke: in the end, they’ve either worked or they haven’t, and only the reader knows. And part of the pleasure lies in the effectiveness of the delivery to the reader. Therefore, I consider the short story to be a very demanding form. I have to ‘burn’ the less interesting scenes and then discard them in favour of the more intense ones – and that takes time and many discarded pages.  Speaking of your book Oblivion and Lincoln, the American title includes the word ‘Bardo’. A state between death and rebirth into another form of life. Is that what we are, Mr Saunders? Are we constantly in such a state? Yes, I believe so. The word ‘bardo’ can be used in all transitional states – like the one we are in right now, between birth and death. I suppose we can view every single moment of our lives as a ‘bardo’, with our selves dying and being reborn at every moment. The fact that we carry on basically has to do with a mental construct we create – perhaps for Darwinian reasons, or because we might go mad if we truly realised we are only temporary. Yes, mad, or perhaps with a certain insight.  What was the first thought that came to mind when you decided to write the novel? How did it all begin? Many years ago – in the 1990s – I had heard that Lincoln’s beloved son had died whilst he was President of the United States. He was so overcome with grief that he had visited the grave several times to hold his son’s lifeless body in his arms. That idea has stayed with me all these years – it was all so strange, sad, yet beautiful. Mr Saunders, are you a religious writer? What do you think of yourself? I’d like to think I’m a religious person, or at least someone who’s certainly interested in spiritual matters. I mean, if a person is alive, interested and curious, then a certain set of questions arises in their mind. Why are we here? How are we to live, given this mad contradiction: 1) we were made to love one another AND 2) everything we love (especially our precious selves) is entirely temporary. So, if a writer takes these questions on board and incorporates them into their work (or thinks about them every day), are they a religious writer? I would say yes, even if the result—their work—is not ‘religious’ in the traditional and literal sense. Is your book accessible? I mean, what do you think—can it be read by everyone? It certainly won’t appeal to everyone. You can see that if you look at the reviews on Amazon (laughs). My hope is that it isn’t a difficult book for no reason, if you see what I mean. As the difficulty unfolds, it should lead to increasing beauty. So, what I’m trying to say is that the difficulty rewards the reader in the end. I hope the book teaches the reader how to read it, so that by the end, they’re reading in a new and completely mad way. That offers even greater beauty. How strange is it to give a voice to spirits? In your book, the dead speak. It is just as strange as giving a voice to the living. It is difficult. But it brings great joy. I sensed a strong spirit of understanding from you in the book, and I think that is one of the novel’s key ‘strengths’. I hope so. I think that is precisely what literature does so well in a unique way: it allows us to step into another person’s mind and, in doing so, reassures us that we are not so different from one another – we exist within a continuous and, as a result, greater understanding, empathy and comforting action. In theory, we do this by making an effort within the framework of our perception. Let me take you somewhere else. What is your view on Trump and the fear arising from the rise of populism in the US and Europe?  I think it is yet another manifestation of a human tendency that has always existed: in difficult times, it is easy and somewhat enjoyable to demonise the Other. It is harder to do what I described earlier (i.e. to live with empathy and understanding) or what I mentioned in my speech when I received the Booker Prize. The great story of human activity (I like to think and believe) is the gradual spread of love. Even with a few steps backwards, we are gradually getting better at realising that understanding and empathy are extremely Darwinian tools that the human species needs in order to survive. In the meantime, did you live in fear? Do you think the world is heading towards madness? No, not at all. It has always been this way. Our world is no crazier than it has always been. I think it is crazier for some people at certain moments. I believe in the theory of the Conservation of Madness. The root of madness is spiritual – it is our deluded belief in our separate existence in this world or in our permanence, which leads us to behave badly, and, suddenly, when we die or make a big mistake or suffer, then we realise that things are impermanent. I think this madness has followed us ever since we lived in caves. And I think it’s important, even when we find ourselves in the midst of crazy times, to remember and celebrate those aspects of life that are neither crazy, nor frightening, nor bad. The simple pleasures, the small actions that truly make up the fabric of life. It is the sun shining. It is that face passing by, smiling, beautiful and in love. To ignore these things is to give despair and evil an unfair advantage. What is the role of literature, of art in general, in all this? I see you’ve saved the most important question for last. I think the best way to answer this is to immerse oneself in a beautiful work of art and see what effect it has within you – to observe the positive changes in your mind and spirit, and how these changes make the hours that follow better and richer. That is the role of art: this pleasure and this transformation.

The V. & M. Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music continues its series of exhibitions dedicated to leading Greek poets. Thus, following ‘The World of Odysseas Elytis: Poetry and Painting’, which was first presented in Athens in 2011 and, four years later, at the Teloglion Foundation of Arts – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with the exhibition ‘C. P. Cavafy – Paintings: 40 Contemporary Greek Artists’, which was exhibited in Athens in 2013, the exhibition ‘When the light dances, I speak rightly. George Seferis and his poetry through painting and photography’ will now be presented. The Black Shining Sun of Summer, 2017Kostas TsoclisSand, 130 x 100 cmArtist’s collectionThe exhibition will be opened on Wednesday, 8 November 2017, at 8.00 pm by the President of the Republic, Mr Prokopios Pavlopoulos. The exhibition is curated by Takis Mavrotas, Director of the Visual Arts Programme at the V. & M. Theocharakis Foundation, with the support of Panagiotis Roilos, Professor of Modern Greek Studies and Comparative Literature, holder of the ‘George Seferis’ Chair at Harvard University (which is celebrating its fortieth anniversary). On display will be manuscripts, personal items, works and objects he painted himself, the Nobel Prize awarded to him by the Swedish Academy in 1963, and original works by leading Greek artists who were or are inspired by Seferis’s poetry, such as Adamantios Diamantis, Spyros Vassiliou, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Gikas, Yannis Tsarouchis, Tassos, Yannis Moralis, Giorgos Sikelotis, Panagiotis Tetsis, Vasilis Theocharakis, Christos Karas, Kostas Tsoklis, Alekos Fassianos, Sotiris Sorogas, Michalis Makroulakis, Theodoros Papagiannis, Alekos Levidis, Platon Rivellis, Apostolos Fanakidis, Giannis Psychopedis, Vicky Tsalamata, Vana Xenos, Giannis Adamakos, Stefanos Daskalakis, Aphrodite Liti, Michalis Arfaras, Thanasis Makris, Christos Bokoros, Edouard Sakagian, Kostas Papanikolaou, Manolis Haros, Alexandra Athanasiadi, Giorgos Rorris, Vasilis Selimas, Alexis Veroukas, Venya Behraki, Leda Kontogiannopoulou, Aspasios Charonitakis and Nikos Tranos. At the same time, works by Panagiotis Zografos (1790–1840 or 1843) and Theophilos Hatzimichael (1873–1934) will be exhibited alongside the poet’s comments on their paintings.  In the Blonde Sand, 1971Spyros VassiliouAcrylic, sand and collage on canvas, 81 x 116 cmGeorge Niarchos CollectionThe exhibition will be accompanied by a bilingual catalogue featuring texts by Eleni Arveler, Panagiotis Roilos, Takis Mavrotas and Dimitris Daskalopoulos. All the exhibits are on loan from Mrs Anna Lontou, the Gennadius Library, the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, MIET, the Benaki Museum, Ikaros Publications, the participating visual artists, and others. Exhibition Curator: Takis Mavrotas Dates: 3 November 2017–21 January 2018 Admission: €6, €3 (for students, for pupils aged 12 to 18, for people over 65), free (for the unemployed, for pupils aged 12 and under)Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10:00–18:00 Thursday: 10:00–20:00 (October–May)B. & M. Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music | 9 Vas. Sofias & 1 Merlin, 10671, Athens Find out more about George Seferis and his books here.

The American author George Saunders is this year’s winner of The Man Booker Prize, the most prestigious literary award in English-language literature, for his novel *Lincoln in the Bardo*.The book was published in Greek by Ikaros Publications on 2 October, translated by Giorgos-Ikaros Babasakis.Lincoln in the Bardo is the first novel by the internationally acclaimed short-story writer, and recounts US President Abraham Lincoln’s visit to the cemetery where his eleven-year-old son, Willie, was buried. That evening, Abraham Lincoln arrives alone at the cemetery, wishing to spend time with his son’s lifeless body. During the night, the ghosts of those who have recently passed away and those who have been dead for some time coexist; a monumental battle takes place for the soul of little Willie.Using this historical event as a catalyst, George Saunders tells an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic story of family love, loss, and the forces of good and evil.The award ceremony took place at Guildhall in London yesterday, Tuesday 17 October 2017. Lola Young, chair of the judging panel, said, among other things: ‘The form and style of this utterly original novel reveal a witty and deeply moving narrative. The story of the haunted souls in the afterlife of Abraham Lincoln’s young son creates, in a paradoxical way, a vivid memory of the characters inhabiting the other world. ‘Lethith and Lincoln’ has its roots in history, plays with it, and explores the meaning and experience of empathy.” George Saunders has written seven books, including the short story collections *Tenth of December* and *Pastoralia*. He has been a fellow of the Lannan Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 2006, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. In 2013, he was awarded the PEN/Malamud Short Story Award and was included in The Times’ list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He teaches on the Creative Writing Programme at Syracuse University.Ikaros Publications has also released his books *The Tenth of December* (2015) and *With My Best Wishes: Reflections on Goodness* (2015), translated by G. I. Babasakis.