![\"Celebrating](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9708795d7d9ccb375ba4c50e1f339366_11_Anamnestike-ste-Khalke-320x200.jpg?v=1742938056\")
In a city where past and present intertwine, students from 31 schools from Greece, Cyprus and all the way to Johannesburg and New York gathered for the 9th International Student Literature Conference in Istanbul, dedicated to influential Greek poet Kiki Dimoula.<\/p>\n
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew set the tone, declaring, \u201cPoetry is the place where there is no place for those who see the almond tree with the eyes of the woodcutter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Held at the historic Zographeion Lyceum, the conference coincided with World Poetry Day on Sunday. Scholars and students examined Dimoula\u2019s work \u2013 her mythic figures, reflections on the body, and poetic contradictions. A highlight was the presence of Dimoula\u2019s daughter, Elsi, who offered glimpses of the poet beyond the page \u2013 mother, worker, rebel.<\/p>\n
As the students departed the conference, the poetry remained \u2013 etched in minds, carried across borders, whispered like an echo of the city itself.<\/p>\n
Dimoula (1931-2020) was a prominent figure in the second post-war generation of Greek poets and a full member of the Academy of Athens. Her poetry is characterized by its exploration of themes such as hopelessness, insecurity, absence and oblivion, often using unconventional grammar and imagery to convey profound insights into human existence.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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