In the series ‘If I Read Poets of the 1930s Generation’, Alexis Kyritsopoulos draws inspiration from the verses of the great poets of the 1930s generation and writes fairy tales set against the backdrop of his unique imagery.
“When, whilst reading Nikos Engonopoulos’s poems, I came to ‘On Heights’, it was as if Engonopoulos himself had leapt out before me. Are his poems not Easter bells? Night-time, dazzling meteors in the Attic sky? Is not his writing hand resplendent in the sun, and luminous with sparkling fireworks at night? When he speaks, do not terrible earthquakes ravage all? Do not volcanoes
erupt in Peru and spew their fury into the heavens? Is Nikos Engonopoulos not the son of General Bolívar? In the shadows, in the darkest alleys of the market, behind the mask of the Italian pyrotechnician – kou-kou, we have met you, kind Mr Engonopoulos!”
A.K.
With this in mind, Alexis Kyritsopoulos writes the story of a poet who wanted to send stars into the sky. Fireworks! Lightning, shooting stars and moon shards are the materials he chooses to adorn the sky with fireworks and sparkling poems.
The book has won the following awards:
-Award for the illustrator and author of a book with colourful illustrations, from the Greek Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (Greek IBBY) – Children’s Book Circle (2013)
-Anagnostis magazine’s award for an illustrated children’s book (2013)
-The State Award for an illustrated children’s book (2013).
- Pages: 64
- ISBN: 978-960-9527-53-8
- Publication: 2012
- Dimensions: 21 x 17 εκ
- Categories: Childrens' Books, Αν διάβαζα ποιητές της γενιάς του '30
...With books like this, I have no excuse not to immerse children in poetry and literature from a young age...
– Young and Old the blog"...In this book, stars, shooting stars and comets, with colourful tails – or without them – light up the dark night skies of its pages. They give them a sparkle and inspire wonder."
– Mary Tsorteki, Artharbour.grAlexis Kyritsopoulos
He was born in Athens but discovered painting in Paris. His artwork features in galleries, books, vinyl records, CDs and posters. He has painted musical performances and created ‘moving paintings’, or in other words, animations. Sometimes he writes and illustrates his own books. At other times, he illustrates books written by others. So, apart from his solo exhibitions (Skoufa Gallery, Zouboulaki, Astra, Anemos) and some group exhibitions in which he participates, his paintings can be found in his books: The Fairy Tale of Colours, The White Horse, A Little Fairy Tale for Winter and Summer, Suddenly Christmas, Hide and Seek, One + 5 Caryatids (published by Kedros), Come, My Eyes, Adorn Yourself (published by Agra) and S’AG (published by Armos).
He collaborates with Stelios Ramfos on his books and with Dionysis Savvopoulos on his musical shows (Acharnes, Kourema, Savvorama), albums and CDs. He creates artwork for the music of Nikos Xydakis (album covers, CDs and posters). He has also illustrated Manos Hadjidakis’s The Absurdities. He creates artwork for the Athens Concert Hall (Petros and the Wolf, Savvorama, Lysistrata). He collaborates with Professor Vasso Tokatlidou (Department of Applied Linguistics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) on the graphic concept and illustration of French educational books.
