Live Encounters Greek Poets & Writers September 2026
Medea, poems by Asimina Xiroyianni.
Translated from Greek by Aristi Trendel.
Medea
Here before you, spectators—
(for I am no coward.
I am made of original stuff.
I carry a witch’s ancestry on my shoulders.
I do not forget my past.
Monstrosity is written into my DNA.
I married all that was chaotic.)
So here before you!
I, the poetess.
I officiate.
My new work I write
after Euripides’ olden play.
I, not Seneca.
I give myself permission
to produce a subversive text.
Here before you!
It is truly highly provocative,
Exquisite, exceptional,
bestial, sadistic.
I do harm, I know.
Upon the stage—oh, how sensual—
I kill my children.
I moan.
I kill my children.
I scream.
I kill my children.
How blatantly sensual!
And you! What a marvelous audience!
Author’s note
*Inspired by Seneca’s Medea
Autumn Story
See you in autumn, then!
So the story can go on
The question is whether the words will come back to us,
or whether they have been lost forever
in the mazes of our summer wanderings.
I was reading about the lover of a prostitute
called Lou.
So many men came and went through her body,
yet only one managed to seduce her,
outpacing even the night itself.
And I want to tell you the whole story,
when, exhausted by love,
we lie back in bed
and sink into each other’s eyes,
making sure not a single glance falls to the floor.
Which autumn month will it be this time?
September, perhaps? Or November?
Will you atone for your summer betrayal?
A Boundless Gaze: Poems 2018-2023, Vakhikon, 2023
© Asimina Xiroyianni
Asimina Xirogianni (Athens) studied Classical Philology and Theatre Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, as well as Acting at the Theatreon-Ergastirion Drama School (Empros). She teaches Greek Literature (ancient and modern) in Secondary Education. Her poems have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Romanian. Her essays, articles, and critical texts are published in print and online journals and blogs. Since 2009, she has maintained the literary blog varelaki [varelaki.blogspot.com]. Her most recent books are: Poems 2009-2017, Vakhikon, 2021 and A Boundless Gaze: Poems 2018-2023, Vakhikon, 2023.