Dr Nick Trakakis will give a seminar on Thursday, May 30 at the Greek Centre in Melbourne on the late poet Tasos Leivaditis.
Leivaditis (1922-88) is one of the greatest poets of the first post-war generation. He was born and raised in Athens and from a young age he showed interest in both poetry and politics. His political ideas and his involvement in the National Liberation Front (EAM) during World War II led to his arrest and imprisonment.
With the escalation of the civil war in June 1948, he was arrested and exiled to Moudros. From 1948 to 1952, he was exiled for his political beliefs to Lemnos, Ai Stratis, and Makronisos, along with other left-wing artists and intellectuals, such as Yannis Ritsos, Aris Alexandrou, and Manos Katrakis.
He was released in late 1951, and immediately after, he made his poetic debut, vividly expressing the horror of war and the longing for justice and peace. In 1952, his poetry collections “Battle at the Edge of the Night” and “This Star is for All of Us” were published. The following year, his poetry collection “It Blows at the Crossroads of the World” won the first poetry prize at the World Youth Festival in Warsaw.
From 1954 to 1967, he worked at the newspaper “I Avgi” as a poetry critic, while simultaneously creating a rich body of poetic work that speaks directly to the souls and collective memory of the Class. He is the one who spoke about friendship, love, relationships in general, and struggle. He described in the most free and real way the interaction of emotion and resistance. Ultimately, he is the poet of Love and Revolution.
Dr Trakakis’ seminar will offer an overview of Leivaditis’ life, as well as an introduction to his most important works.
Bio
Dr Nick Trakakis teaches philosophy at the Australian Catholic University, and also writes and translates poetry. His translations of Tasos Leivaditis’ work include “The Blind Man with the Lamp” (Denise Harvey Publications, 2014), “Violets for a Season” (Red Dragonfly Press, 2017), “Autumn Manuscripts” (Smokestack Books, 2020, joint winner of the NSW Premier’s Translation Prize), and “Night Visitor” (Human Side Press, 2023).
Event details:
When: Thursday 30 May 2024, 7pm
Speaker: Dr Nick Trakakis
SEMINAR: Tasos Leivaditis: Poet of Revolutions and Sunsets
Where: Greek Centre (Mezzanine, 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne)
Entry: Free
SPONSOR: Hellenic Writers’ Association of Australia
Greek Australian-bred, LA-based multi-platinum singer, songwriter and dance music producer VASSY (real name Vasiliki “Vassy” Karagiorgos) has been honoured with the Billions List Award by APRA AMCOS.
Αccording to themusic.com, the achievement arrives after VASSY hit the milestone of two billion streams of her single Bad, starring David Guetta and Showtek (released in 2014). To celebrate the honour, she performed an acoustic set in an intimate ceremony.
“It feels so good to be Back in Australia. Thank you, APRA AMCOS, for my Billions Award for Bad reaching the 2 BILLION stream milestone! It was so special to be around my Aussie community,” she commented in a statement.
“Thank you for all the love & support you have given me over the years. I am truly thankful to have such a supportive crew of people who believe in me and have been my champions from day one.”
Photo: vassymusic.com
VASSY performed at Darwin’s BASSINTHEGRASS Festival on Saturday, 18 May. Her latest single is Midnight, a song produced by UK producer duo Punctual (Calvin Harris, Becky Hill, Joel Corry) and Aussie hitmakers Uncanny Valley (Justin Shave and Charlton Hill).
Last year, VASSY opened for Barbie Girl icons Aqua in the US. The touring slot followed her win of the Future of Dance Award at the Miami Electronic Dance Music Awards, where she was also the first female artist to be crowned with the Icon Award.
Following the epic win, VASSY told Purple Sneakers in an interview, “To be recognised for my art and contribution to the Dance Community by my industry and the fans in the dance space is such a rewarding moment and monumental career highlight.
Themis Chryssidis is transforming his acclaimed city restaurant, eleven, with a new menu and more affordable prices together with Callum Hann.
According to the Advertiser, the prominent Adelaide restaurateurs have also announced the opening of a casual lunch spot in the adjoining Arbor Lane laneway. Additionally, they plan to renovate eleven’s existing outdoor bar and cafe area.
The leading Adelaide restaurateurs have also revealed they will open an additional casual lunch spot in the adjoining Arbor Lane laneway, offering food from 8am, and have plans to renovate eleven’s existing outdoor bar and cafe area.
Chryssidis explained that eleven, the modern Australian restaurant they launched in 2021, will close at the beginning of August and reopen a month later with a fresh “light and bright” design, a new name, and a different culinary focus.
“It’s going to feel a little more casual. It’s still going to be the same quality food that we’re known for – fresh, seasonal, local – with great hospitality that people expect from us, but in a more light, vibrant environment,” he said.
Photo: glamadelaide.com.au
“It will also be at a lower price point. Not that eleven is expensive, but the perception is that eleven is more expensive than it really is.”
In November last year, Chryssidis and Hann opened Olive, a Mediterranean-focused eatery on Pirie Street in the city, offering “big flavors,” generous share plates, and all-day dining.
The duo, who co-founded Sprout Cooking School in 2011, also teamed up for Mediterranean eatery, Lou’s Place, at the Lou Miranda Estate cellar door in Rowland Flat, in 2020.
The big changes to eleven were initially announced on the restaurant’s social media accounts.
“Our venue will finally be accessible from King William St and Franklin St and we can’t wait to welcome the resulting foot traffic through our city oasis,” the post said.
“We are so excited about the possibilities at the new and rejuvenated site that in addition to a brand new concept we will also be expanding our offering in the area as we take an additional tenancy … proof we aren’t going anywhere!”
Greece has yet to restore historic mosques on the island of Lesvos, despite mutual agreements and the principle of reciprocity with neighbouring Turkey, according to an expert, mentioned in an article by dailysabah.com
Neval Konuk, an associate professor of architecture history and a lecturer in tourism guiding at Marmara University, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that a deal was signed in 2010 with the municipality of Ayvalık in Turkey’s western Balıkesir province, which borders Lesvos.
According to this agreement, the Greek administration on Lesvos was to restore three historical mosques in exchange for the restoration of three Greek Orthodox churches: Taxiarchis, Agios Yannis, and Ayvalık Ayazma.
Photo: theowp.org
“While Ayvalık has fulfilled the agreement and renovated the buildings, Greece is yet to adhere to the deal 14 years later,” Konuk said.
Though Greece and Turkey appear to have opened a fresh leaf in long-tense bilateral relations since last year, the state of Ottoman heritage mosques is a point of contention between the two.
Turkey has criticised Athens in the past for depriving Muslim minorities of rights and letting Ottoman-era buildings, including the mosques, fall into disrepair.
Retiring comfortably and traveling the world funded by your investments might seem like a dream, but for 29-year-old Tom Christides, it’s nearly a reality.
According to The Financial Review, Tom Christides is among a growing number of young people who are opting out of the daily grind and living frugally now to enjoy the benefits of early retirement. They’re following an intense regimen known as FIRE – Financial Independence, Retire Early. FIRE – Financial Independence, Retire Early.
This financial approach has inspired numerous Facebook groups and YouTube channels, and it originates from the 1992 best-seller “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.
“For me, I’ve been chasing FIRE since the start of my work career about 10-12 years ago and I’m at a point now where I’m probably 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the way to achieving my retirement goal to retire at 35,” Christides said, adding that his dream is to pursue a career as a musician and travel.
Photo: Financial Review
The general concept of FIRE is simple: work hard, slash household spending, save aggressively and invest.
For Christides, this philosophy motivates him to work three jobs while still making time to travel, all while living in the West Australian mining town of Port Hedland.
“I work full-time in IT for the local hospital and I’m also a personal trainer at a gym and a musician where I play for events and venues, doing cover stuff, and this year I’ve also started putting out original music,” he says.
“It’s all in the name of FIRE to either, you know, increase my income in whatever way, live a frugal lifestyle and be able to save money to put towards investments.”
Christides’ investment journey started at 19, when he was able to use his casual Subway earnings to save up enough to pay for a deposit for the first of three units in Perth.
While he credits his parents for teaching him the importance of saving early and being thrifty, he has also self-educated by reading extensively, joining FIRE groups on social media, and following financial experts like Warren Buffett.
“I started off in property and quickly realised that I had all my eggs in one basket and needed to diversify my portfolio,” he says. “I’ve been investing mostly in ETFs since then.
The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) School, Bentleigh Campus, completed its participation in the Olympic Educational Program titled “4th Olympic Week, on the way to Paris 2024” by awarding participation certificates to its students on Tuesday, May 21.
The program, which is the most important educational initiative of Olympic Education, is implemented by the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the National Olympic Academy in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
This year, the program took place from April 22 to 26 for the fourth consecutive year and involved schools and teachers from Greece, Cyprus, and the diaspora.
The main goal of the program and the activities carried out during Olympic Week is to promote Olympism and the Olympic ideals. This year, Olympic Week was dedicated to the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be hosted by Paris.
Melbourne Schools
As part of the program, the students had an online meeting with Olympic gold medallist in artistic gymnastics, Lefteris Petrounias, and champion in artistic gymnastics, Vasiliki Millousi. The meeting was attended by schools from Greece, Cyprus, and the diaspora. The two athletes shared their sports experiences, answered questions, and talked about the Olympic ideals and their future goals.
Mrs Syrmo Kapoutsi, a teacher at the GCM schools who participated in the program with her students, described the meeting as a lifetime experience for the students. She believes it will be a source of inspiration for many children regarding their personal goals and the values they will follow in their lives.
Olympic Week
Mrs. Kapoutsi also emphasised the importance of the Olympic Games and the values they carry, mentioning that the schools are implementing a series of relevant actions to educate the students about the history, ideals, and values of the Olympic Games.
Greeks are experiencing a significant trust crisis in institutions as well as in each other, according to a nationwide survey by research organization Dianeosis.
Asked whether “most people are trustworthy,” an overwhelming 86.6% answered that “we need to be especially careful in our dealings with people.”
According to ekathimerini.com, more than 3,300 participants over 17 took part in the Jan 15 – Feb 12 survey “What Greeks Think 2024”.
About half believe that “the biggest threat to the future of Greeks” is the economy, with 37% rating demographics as second.
32.3% believe the most important factor for the country’s economic growth is faster administration of justice – a 2% rise from 2022 – while 27.3% say transparency in the public sector and institutions is the most crucial for economic growth, compared to 19% in 2022.
Moreover, 83% believe that in 2034 Greece “will be a country with many immigrants from many countries.”
The richest woman in the world is Françoise Betancourt. The heir to the L’Òreal empire has a fortune of $101 billion, ranking 14th among the world’s super-rich, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
However, Françoise Bettencourt fails to represent France as the richest person in the country, an award that belongs to Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët, the world’s leading luxury goods group with a fortune of 186.2 billion. After all, according to aftodioikisi.gr, in just seven countries in the world, the richest people are women, among them Greece.
Maria Angelikousi is the richest member of the Greek shipping industry, with a fortune estimated at $6 billion. The 42-year-old women who has roots from the Greeks island of Chios, followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, Antonis V. Angelicoussis, legendary shipping tycoon and founder of the company Angelicoussis Shipping Group Limited (ASGL), but also of her father, from whom she inherited the family business.
Maria Angelikousi, three years after the death of her late father, Ioannis Angelikousi, on April 10, 2021, proves that although she studied and practiced as a doctor in Great Britain until 2008 and offered her services non-profitably in African countries, has shipping in her DNA.
Gina Rinehart. Photo: AAP/DAVE HUNT
The richest person in Australia is also a woman. The 71-year-old Gina Rinehart has a fortune of $22.8 billion and she ranks 84th among the richest people in the world. She is the daughter of geologist Land Hancock and founder of Hancock Prospecting, a major Australian mining and agricultural company.
After her father’s death in 1992, Rinehart became executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting Pty Limited (HPPL) and the HPPL group of companies. Now, the entrepreneur is looking to move her business into the production of lithium, a mineral associated with green energy that can be used to make batteries for electronic devices and electric cars.
Melbourne’s Greek community knows Katerina Stevens for her captivating music gigs at various venues and festivals. But her passion extends beyond music. Katerina, born in Adelaide to parents from Kos and Sparta, is carving a unique path for herself as a newly-minted death doula.
“From the age of 10, I knew I wanted to be a violinist,” Katerina tells The Greek Herald.
Life took her through various roles – a music teacher, a special needs assistant, a student of Buddhism. More recently, she’s embraced the role of death doula, aiming to break down taboos and offer support to those facing death and loss.
Growing interest in doulas
Death doulas are gaining traction, but Katerina has yet to meet a fellow Greek Australian in the field, even though “doula” is a Greek word.
“’Doula’ originally meant ‘slave’ but also carries the meaning ‘to serve’,” Katerina explains. “People are familiar with birth doulas who assist with childbirth. But end-of-life doulas provide non-medical support to terminally ill patients or those experiencing loss from failed IVF to pet bereavement. We are not doctors or nurses, I stress this, just advocates.”
This support, she adds, can be “practical, spiritual or emotional.”
“I may directly help a person diagnosed or their loved ones. It’s flexible and can extend to working with their friends and family, and even palliative care teams,” she says.
Katerina Stevens. Photo copyright The Greek Herald.
Respecting individuality
Katerina emphasises that death is a personal experience. As a death doula, she advocates for individuals at their most vulnerable. Being Greek Australian herself, she understands the cultural nuances surrounding death, grief, and the role of the Greek Orthodox Church.
“Regardless of our own beliefs, it is important to respect the wishes of the dying,” Katerina says. “A ‘good death’ looks different for everyone, and voluntary assisted dying legislation has added another layer.”
Katerina believes facing mortality can enrich life. She also acknowledges the limitations of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ model with its seven stages of grief.
“Grief has no set timeline,” she says. “The saying ‘time heals all wounds’ isn’t entirely accurate. More recent studies show that grief can alter our identity as we grow around it and shape who we are. If left unaddressed it will express itself in other ways through symptoms like disturbed sleep and brain fog.”
She highlights ‘disenfranchised grief’ where societal dismissal intensifies pain. Her own experience with failed IVF and pet loss fuelled her search for healing.
Katerina Stevens with her cat, Honey, in their back terrace, beside a nursing home. Photo copyright The Greek Herald.
Healing when you’re Greek
Within the Greek community, pet loss might be trivialised and adds guilt to the sense of loss. In cases of failed IVF, well-meaning comments like “you can try again,” “adopt” or shared stories of “miracle babies” to women who had lost all hope can add to the hurt.
“People say things that are unhelpful, and that is why it is beneficial to share grief with those who understand it,” Katerina says.
Her group, “Women over 40 who are childless not by choice,” fosters connection among women who share similar experiences. Through monthly meetings, they share their pain and find rituals for healing and closure.
“When someone dies, we have funerals,” Katerina says. “But how do we say goodbye to an unborn child, a relationship that has broken down, or a pet? Memory boxes, poems or artworks are rituals to help acknowledge these losses and pay tribute to the death can help.”
She acknowledges her own struggles, openly sharing the depth of her grief and need for emotional rewiring.
Katerina Stevens has opened up about her own grief. Photo copyright The Greek Herald.
“Callers would share things with me that they wouldn’t with their families because it is easier sometimes to speak more openly with a stranger,” she recalls.
Building on this, she is in the process of launching a “death café.”
“Death cafes are open spaces where people gather for conversations about death, often over tea and cake,” she explains. “I am looking for a safe and respectful environment to create one, a place where people can share their thoughts and feelings.”
A Swiss initiative, Death Cafes were first launched in 2004 to offer connection and kinship, breaking through the loneliness of grief. No judgement. No strings attached.
One thing Katerina has understood through her own grief and exploration of death is that it is part of life.
“People share stories with me, sometimes at my music venues, and you never know what is going on beneath the surface,” she says, pointing to all those who “silently suffer.”
She remembers her own grief.
“That’s why I became a death doula, to help myself. As a byproduct I have helped others and that is a bonus,” she says.
Katerina Stevens’ ‘death café’ and group, ‘Women over 40 who are childless not by choice’ are open to all. Contact Katerina by email at stevens.katerina@gmail.com
Miss Rontziokos has been recognised in the ‘Student Journalist of the Year’ category for an article published in The Greek Herald which investigated the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia’s (GOAA) ‘Certificate of death and funeral service.’
The investigation found families were expected to pay $250 for a funeral certificate that was not officially recognised in Australia nor Greece. The cost of the certificate was also found to be five times the amount compared to a government-issued death certificate in Australia and Greece.
In a statement to The Greek Herald, Miss Rontziokos said she was “incredibly grateful” to be recognised in the Awards for the investigation.
“It is a genuine pinch myself moment,” she said.
“I cannot have done it without my team at The Greek Herald who did not shy away from the facts and encouraged my thorough investigation. I thank The Greek Herald sincerely for providing a platform that publishes factual and investigative work regarding the Greek community.”
“This is the story’s third recognition for journalistic excellence. It is clear the story reveals the jarring reality for Greek Australians: knowing this certificate is legally insignificant, but without it, they cannot bury their loved one,” she said.
“All I hope is that this nomination sheds further light on the issue and probes community leaders to re-evaluate their actions which affect Greek community members.”
