Maddy Constantine’s poem ‘Yiayia’s Hands’ was recently selected to feature in an anthology that celebrates the work of Australians from under-represented backgrounds.
The Diversity in Food Media Australia’s new book, titled ‘New Voices on Food 2: Past, Present and Future’ showcases the multicultural experiences of young Australians through food stories.
“My poem aims to highlight the special connection second and third generation Greek Australians have with their grandparents, and how this is personified through food,” Maddy tells The Greek Herald.
“So much of our identity in the Greek community is understood through our connection to food.”
A third generation Australian of Greek heritage, Maddy has fond memories of her grandparents, Nicholas (Nick), Tryfon and Eftychia (Effie), who immigrated to Sydney from Greece in the 1940s and 1950s.
“My paternal grandfather, papou Nick was the first to migrate, he was only 14 years old at the time. He was from Repanidi in Limnos. My maternal grandfather, papou Tryfon, was next and he was from Manthirea, a small village near Tripoli in the Peloponnese,” she explains.
“My Yiayia Effie was last. She was from a beautiful coastal village on the Ionian coast called Loutsa near Preveza in Epirus. The poem is based on her life, but largely serves as a metaphor for the combined experiences of all my grandparents.”
Maddy’s paternal grandmother, Val, who passed away earlier this year was Australian.
“She was a wonderful cook, and was praised by the Greek community she married into for her ability to prepare traditional Greek dishes,” says Maddy.
“In preparation for her funeral -she was baptised Greek Orthodox after marrying my Papou Nick- my yiayia Effie and I got together to bake bread, as it’s Lemnian tradition to dip bread into wine for mourners to eat at the burial site.
“While baking bread for her funeral I was reminiscing about all the times I watched her in the kitchen, and at the same time it made me appreciate the fact that I still have time to watch my Yiayia Effie do the same,” she explains.
“The poem is based on my Yiayia Effie, but it was written in remembrance of my Grandma Val. I really wanted to capture how these women used their hands and food, to teach us so much about our own identities.”
And it was not only baking that Maddy recalls from her childhood.
“My best memories are the simple joys growing up in a Greek family afforded me. Loud family gatherings, delicious meals waiting for us after school at yiayia’s place, pilgrimages to the villages our grandparents grew up in, buying my first Greek CD, and so many more.
“What I remember growing up and learning from yiayia are things like coming home from school to see the whole dining table covered in handmade hilopites that she was drying out for dinner. Or sitting with my brothers in the living room while she tried her best to teach us Greek with textbooks like the Alphavitario -she would even slip us dollar coins to bribe us into paying attention,” she says.
“My most cherished memory is when she would take us every week to Earlwood on the bus to visit the library, then the Greek video store -she would only let us rent Disney movies in Greek.
“These little adventures didn’t mean much to me at the time but it’s the reason I have any Greek language skills at all today and I know how important it was for her to feel like she was teaching us things, especially since she didn’t have much of an education growing up.”
Yiayia Effie is 80 years old and Maddy says she was touched when she found out the poem was published.
“She surprised me by telling me she also writes poems from time to time, and went to find them to read them to me. They were truly beautiful and I had no idea she had this hidden talent!
“She never told us about the poems because she was embarrassed about her writing skills, given she only had a primary school education in Greece.”
“It means so much to me that I share a love of writing with my Yiayia.”
But apart from sharing food, Greek people also like sharing their culture.
“I can’t wait to read the other entries in the book,” Maddy says.
“Everything from Brazilian family cookbooks, how growing food in Zimbabwe has inspired a Melbourne farm-to-table restaurant, Indigenous cooking lessons to help kids in juvenile detention and connecting to your culinary heritage as a Korean-Australian adoptee.”
“My poem is just one of these stories, and it’s so great that this project allows writers from culturally diverse backgrounds to tell the food stories of their communities.
“I am super proud to be a voice for the Greek community in this project!”
READ MORE: Adelaide food blogger on a mission to make Greek cooking fun and accessible
