The following was originally published on Yahoo Voices on July 18, 2012.
Christodoulos Makris is quite the rising star in poetry. He has
written three collections. The first one is a low-fi publication by Wurm Press
in 2009 titled Round The Clock. It is now sold out. The second is a
handsome little paperback titled Spitting Out The Mother Tongue from Wurm Press in 2011. The third is a limited edition, numbered art book of
100 copies total and is titled Muses Walk. Makris was chosen
to represent Cyprus in the
gargantuan "Poetry Parnassus" festival which was organised in London Ireland
Round The Clock is eclectic and doesn't really follow a theme. Standout poems are "The Impressionists", "Competitor Vassilaras", "Serving And F---ing" (censoring that word is my doing), and "Ginsberg in Fingal". "The Impressionists" is a timely statement on entertainment today and its effect on the artist (I use "artist" here broadly, to include all the arts). Impressionist painters are depicted as being on a reality show competition where the viewers vote for the one they like until all but one of them are dead. It forces meditation on just what art and artists are subjected to in the modern environment. The end result does and should make the reader uncomfortable. "Competitor Vassilaras" reads like a childhood memory of the poet's father and documents a shocking moment when the theatricality of wrestling was invaded by the all-too-real. "Serving And F---ing" is a statement on immigration and prejudice, exile and loneliness. "Ginsberg in Fingal" reflects an ambiguous feeling towardIreland U.S. ,
this kind of poem from an immigrant is cliche, but in Ireland
Spitting Out The Mother Tongue is better organised. As the title suggests, it revolves around the experience of a Cypriot immigrant inWestern Europe . It is much harder to pick out particular
poems in this volume because the poems support each other like paragraphs in a
novel. Makris' language is almost unpoetic. There is no attempt at music here
and rhythm, while present, does not immediately soothe the ear. The wording is
plain and simple, as if the reader was listening to some average Joe on the
street describing his surroundings. Sometimes it is that very quality which
makes it powerful. Many of the poems focus on adolescence and young adulthood.
There are moments when the reader gets the feeling that it's all been said
before. But then a phrase or image will smack the reader back into poetic
reverie. The best poems in Spitting Out The Mother Tongue are
"Muses Walk" and "Nicosia Journal".
Muses Walk the book (versus the poem) is extraordinary. It represents - it is - Makris' best work to date. As part of the "Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts in Dublin" initiative, Makris took "Muses Walk" the poem (which is an attempt to snapshot, so to speak, a particular street in Nicosia) and dissected it to create this little art book. He took each line of the original poem and used it for the title of a poem based on that line until he had done so with every line of "Muses Walk". The result is more than a snapshot of a street. Now it is a full album representing the people of that street, their lives, and their cultures. This little book is a true treasure. With it, one begins to see that Makris is an important poet, not just for sleepyIreland
You are not here
and I cup my hands
to gather snowflakes.
I preserve them
for as long as I can;
then blow them back
into the infant summer.
- from "Nicosia
Round The Clock is eclectic and doesn't really follow a theme. Standout poems are "The Impressionists", "Competitor Vassilaras", "Serving And F---ing" (censoring that word is my doing), and "Ginsberg in Fingal". "The Impressionists" is a timely statement on entertainment today and its effect on the artist (I use "artist" here broadly, to include all the arts). Impressionist painters are depicted as being on a reality show competition where the viewers vote for the one they like until all but one of them are dead. It forces meditation on just what art and artists are subjected to in the modern environment. The end result does and should make the reader uncomfortable. "Competitor Vassilaras" reads like a childhood memory of the poet's father and documents a shocking moment when the theatricality of wrestling was invaded by the all-too-real. "Serving And F---ing" is a statement on immigration and prejudice, exile and loneliness. "Ginsberg in Fingal" reflects an ambiguous feeling toward
Spitting Out The Mother Tongue is better organised. As the title suggests, it revolves around the experience of a Cypriot immigrant in
Muses Walk the book (versus the poem) is extraordinary. It represents - it is - Makris' best work to date. As part of the "Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts in Dublin" initiative, Makris took "Muses Walk" the poem (which is an attempt to snapshot, so to speak, a particular street in Nicosia) and dissected it to create this little art book. He took each line of the original poem and used it for the title of a poem based on that line until he had done so with every line of "Muses Walk". The result is more than a snapshot of a street. Now it is a full album representing the people of that street, their lives, and their cultures. This little book is a true treasure. With it, one begins to see that Makris is an important poet, not just for sleepy
You are not here
and I cup my hands
to gather snowflakes.
I preserve them
for as long as I can;
then blow them back
into the infant summer.
- from "
