Returning to Larissa

I have lived in Larissa for 23 out of the 33 years of my life. It is the city I was born in, the city where the literary magazine Thraka and the publishing house of the same name were born. I moved to the coastal area of the prefecture six months ago. It was strange to be back as a guest of the city and the Municipality through this program.

Thraka was founded in Larrisa and its home has always been here, because we wanted it this way, even though most of its activity over the last years has taken place in Athens, to the point that people were not aware that we are based in Larissa and got excited when we announced an event named "Want to come to Larisa?".

                 Literature in Larissa, Past and Present

My participation in this project was an opportunity to get to know the reading public of the city, read my poems and once again have conversations with great writers like Kostas Lantavos, Thomas Psiras and Sotiris Pastakas. I can't hide my excitement to meet young people taking their first steps in the world of literature. The places where the events took place were packed with people and I made sure to promote the "Ulysses’ Shelter" project, through the events themselves and the (always supportive) local press, so that the public would embrace the writers from all three countries who will be visiting Larissa.

Larissa, once just a muddy town in the plain, may be the liveliest regional city in Greece today, with the most green areas per square kilometer. The central part of the city is almost entirely covered by paved pedestrian walkways and squares.  I was happy to see the result of the latest infrastructure projects, a walk from the center of the city to the hill where the old town and citadel used to be has now become a daily habit. There is an array of cultural events every day and international cooperation in many art forms, which are subjects of conversations in art circles and beyond.

Since I live in close proximity to the city, I look forward to be of help to every visitor in the project and hope that they feel at home in the city I was born in.