Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Contemporary Greek writers have made small inroads into foreign markets, such as
Apostolos Doxiadis with his international bestseller
Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Con-
jecture
, and award-winning children's writer Eugene Trivizas.
Greek publisher Kedros' modern literature translation series includes Dido Sotiriou's
Farewell Anatolia
, Maro Douka's
Fool's God
and Kostas Mourselas' bestselling
Red-
Dyed Hair
, which was made into a popular TV series. Other prominent writers in transla-
tion include Ersi Sotiropoulou, Thanassis Valtinos, Rhea Galanaki, Ziranna Ziteli, Petros
Markaris and Ioanna Karystiani.
Bypassing the translation issue, London-based Panos Karnezis (
The Maze
;
The Birth-
day Party
;
The Convent
) and Soti Triandafyllou (
Poor Margo)
write in English. Other
notable contemporary authors available in translation include Alexis Stamatis (
Bar
Flaubert
;
American Fugue
) and Vangelis Hatziyiannidis (
Four Walls
;
Stolen Time)
.
Music
For most people, Greek music and dance evokes images of spirited, high-kicking laps
around the dance floor to the tune of the bouzouki (a musical instrument in the lute fam-
ily). Greece's strong and enduring music tradition, however, is a rich mosaic of musical
influences and styles.
While many leading performers draw on traditional folk,
laïka
(popular urban folk)
and
rembetika
(blues), Greece's vibrant music scene is also pumping out its share of pop,
club dance music, jazz, rock and even hip-hop.
The memorable opening-credits track from the 1994 film
Pulp Fiction
was based on surf
guitar legend Dirk Dale's 1960s version of 'Misirlou', origin- ally recorded by a Greek
rembetika
band around 1930.
Traditional Folk Music
Traditional folk music was shunned by the Greek bourgeoisie after Independence, when
they looked to Europe - and classical music and opera - rather than their Eastern or
'peasant' roots.
Greece's regional folk music is generally divided into
nisiotika
, the lighter, upbeat mu-
sic of the islands, and the more grounded
dimotika
of the mainland - where the
klarino
(clarinet) is prominent and lyrics refer to hard times, war and rural life. The spirited mu-
sic of Crete, dominated by the Cretan
lyra
(pear-shaped, three-string, bowed instrument)
and lute, remains a dynamic musical tradition, with regular performances and recordings
by new-generation exponents.
