I Speak to Trees by Their Names
Oceanos · Poetry
A LIFE IN POETRY
Giogia
Siokou
Greek poet.
A literary journey from Crete to Athens,
across languages and generations.
IN HER OWN WORDS
I stand at the edge of the abyss and dream.
Poetry is a journey into dreams.
It embraces sky and earth, love and light.
A work of poetry gathers scattered mosaic fragments into
frescoes of life.
Giogia Siokou · Haniotika Nea, 15 September 2024 ↗
Translated from the Greek for this website.
01 / THE POET
Giogia SiokouA life devoted
to the written word.
Born in Chania, Crete, Giogia Siokou lives in Athens. Her encounter with Yannis Ritsos became a defining moment in her literary journey.
Her collection Ancient Bee has travelled beyond the Greek language, with an English translation by David Connolly and a French translation by Michel Volkovitch.
More about her literary journey +
From her first collection in 1994 to Ancient Bee, The Great Silence and I Speak to Trees by Their Names, poetry remains at the heart of her creative life. Her books also bring verse into dialogue with the visual arts, featuring work by artists including Petros Zoumboulakis.
Her poetry has received the Markos Avgeris Poetry Prize. Composers who have set her work to music include Nikos Mamangakis and Vangelis Fampas.
02 / PUBLISHED WORK
Poetry in print.
A selection from the bibliography.
English renderings of Greek titles are descriptive.
The Great Silence
Gavriilidis · Poetry
A Homeless Century
Taxideftis · Poetry
IN TRANSLATION
Ancient Bee
Gutenberg / Typothito · Greek–English edition
English translation by David Connolly.
French translation by Michel Volkovitch, Le Miel des Anges, 2021.
Earlier collections +
- 2003 Unrefracted Solitude — Patakis
- 2002 On the Edges of the Helichrysum — Patakis
- 2000 Wrought Silk — Patakis
- 1999 Waltz in the Ruins — Patakis
- 1998 Representation of the Impossible — Patakis
- 1994 The Mockery of Idols — Delfini
03 / POETRY & CONVERSATIONS
Words
across borders.
Discover the voice behind the collections.
Explore poems, interviews and critical perspectives published elsewhere. Each link opens the original source, in the language indicated.
Reflections on poetry and life.
Giogia Siokou’s words, translated from Greek for this website. Follow each source to read the original interview.
On poetry
“For poetry is a journey into dreams.”
Haniotika Nea · 2024 ↗
On dreaming
“I stand at the edge of the abyss and dream.”
Haniotika Nea · 2024 ↗
On Crete
“My inspiration, burning incandescent, is Crete.”
Haniotika Nea · 2024 ↗
On the poet’s calling
“The more humanity is threatened, the more precious the poet’s mission becomes.”
Patris · 2013 ↗
POEM
Letter to Heaven
Read the poem as published in the newspaper’s literary interview.
Patris · 22 April 2013 · GreekPOEMS & INTERVIEWThe Acropolis in poetry
Two poems from her Acropolis project, alongside reflections on Crete, inspiration and Yannis Ritsos.
Haniotika Nea · 15 September 2024 · GreekLITERARY REVIEWReading Ancient Bee
A critical reading of the collection, its historical memory and its concern for human suffering.
Diastixo · GreekINTERVIEWPoetry, life and Ancient Bee
A conversation about her literary journey, social concerns and the French translation of Ancient Bee.
Efimerida ton Syntakton · 14 August 2021 · GreekINTERVIEWThe poet and the reader
Reflections on the role of poetry and the place of the poet in difficult times.
Patris · 22 April 2013 · GreekTRANSLATION BIBLIOGRAPHYPoetry in English translation
Bibliographic entries for Ancient Bee and The Parthenon, translated by David Connolly.
Census of Modern Greek Literature · English04 / EVENTS & NEWS
Literary encounters.
Readings, conversations
and moments from a literary life.
An honorary doctorate
ESOS reports on the honour awarded to Giogia Siokou by the University of West Attica. Read in Greek.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
FESTIVAL ARCHIVENew dates will be announced here.
A tribute in Chania
Giogia Siokou-Komatsoulaki at the Chania Book Festival.
05 / PHOTOGRAPHS
A personal
perspective.
Photographs from readings and literary gatherings will join this archive.