On the occasion of World Poetry Day, 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, with its attention turned to the war in Ukraine that is currently shocking the entire humankind, is organizing, on Tuesday, March 29, at 19.00 in the city of Elefsina, Mystery_5 WORDS on the WALL or The City as a Reading. This unique action comprises a series of medium and small-scale short texts, poems and phrases; an open urban interpretation, activating various parts of the city of Elefsina.
Walking through the streets of the city, from Synoikismos to Kalibaki and the Nikolaidou Pedestrian Walkway, residents and passers-by in Elefsina will have the opportunity to encounter war-inspired verses written by great poets, such as Giorgos Seferis, T. S. Eliot, Yiannis Ritsos, Paul Celan, Odysseas Elytis, Andreas Kalvos, Dionysios Solomos, Ingeborg Bachmann, Manolis Anagnostakis, Nikos Karouzos, Markos Meskos, Aris Alexandrou, Elias Lagios, and others. Describing war’s brutality vividly, and sometimes bluntly, these great poets will once again praise the supreme moral value that protects life itself, which is none other than peace.
WORDS on the WALL, these rare fragments of texts or poems, are part of the “Ordinary Mysteries,” a series of artistic actions by the ECoC, taking place in the city’s public space, inviting residents and visitors of Elefsina to walk around the city and be introduced to unique and unforgettable artistic events in the public sphere. The first edition of WORDS on the WALL took place on Thursday, December 23, mostly including texts referring to the city of Elefsina itself, from the 4th century BCE until today.
Each action of this urban reading activates and introduces various spots in Elefsina, while reinforcing the character of the city as a stage. And while the WORDS on the WALL have a temporal frequency, each time focusing on a different theme, each of their actions ultimately composes a complete work. As the city hides poets and poetry within itself, through the WORDS on the WALL, 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture opens some of these boxes, where poems or precious stones are kept with care and attention; it is the same, after all. The aim of the action is to one day create a unique epigraphic museum of poetry, a more indelible form of writing that the light from a projection, a “written” poetry.
