Learn about our fellows’ research projects: Maria Nikolopoulou on Greek-American literary interactions in the 1960s

September 21, 2021
Maria Nikolopoulou

Guest post by Maria Nikolopoulou, Fellow in Comparative Cultural Studies 2020-21

Research topic during fellowship: The reception of American literature in Greece in the long 1960s and the perception of Greece in the poetry of the Beats

During the 1960s, Greece can be placed on the border of two different mappings: regarding industrialization and capitalist development, it borders the developed countries; regarding the Cold War geography, it borders the Iron curtain. This defined an ambivalent attitude of Greeks vis-à-vis American culture, which was very much political, as was also the case in other countries in a similar situation, such as Japan and Sweden. The aim of this project was dual: to explore the reception of American culture, and especially literature, in Greece during the 1960s, based on translations in magazines; and to examine the way Greece was perceived by American Beat poets at the same period.

There are two main channels that facilitated the introduction of American literature in Greece: US institutions such as the USIS or the Congress for Cultural Freedom, which enabled the movement of students or writers through their exchange programs and financed the translation of American literature. While mainstream magazines promoted high and popular literature, there is an alternative channel for the transfer of American Beat literature to Greece as early as 1959, which is the presence of certain Beat poets. Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Conrad Rooks, Ted Joans, et al., lived in Greece for short of longer periods in the 1960s.

Their connection was Nanos Valaoritis, who introduced the Beat poets to representatives of the Generation of the 1930s, such as Giorgos Seferis and Odysseas Elytis. Nevertheless, they were somewhat skeptical towards them, due to their subversive cultural practices and identity. On the other hand, Andreas Embiricos, a prominent surrealist, was inspired by their writing and cultural identity and extensively refers to them in his poetry of the period. Moreover, younger poets and artists, who already had a more underground cultural and artistic identity, adopted Beat writing and practices.

The interaction of the American Beat poets with their Greek counterparts is obvious in the avant-garde periodicals of the period. Many of these texts portray the Beats’ experience of Greece, such as the coexistence of the classical past with the present, or their drifting in a pre-modern space while seeking a spiritual experience. On the other hand, the presence of the Beat poets encouraged the revival and reappreciation of the historical avant-gardes.

The American Beat poets experienced Greece within its double cultural bind. On one hand, they viewed its modern reality through its classical past. On the other, the element of tradition, which made the country the pre-modern space that allowed their free movement and personal freedom, by the same token made it a parochial cultural and social environment, which they aimed to alter through their presence, cultural identity, and practices. In this respect, they adopted a typical paradoxical western view of Greece.

Part of this research, especially on the presence and reception of the Beat poets in Greece, was conducted previously.[1]  During my CHS fellowship in Comparative Cultural Studies (September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021) I focused on the perception of Greece in the poetry of the Beats and the impact of the Cultural Cold War on the political reception of American literature. Thanks to the access to Harvard's online resources, I researched the Beat little magazines and drew on the extensive bibliography on the Beats and the Cultural Cold War. Although the summer school did not take place due to the pandemic, I had the chance to present my research to the Centre for Hellenic Studies research community in February 2021 and to enjoy the feedback from the CHS scholars.[2]  Moreover, part of my research was presented in the 1st Annual Research Workshop in summer 2021 in Nafplio, where I very much enjoyed the warm climate, the interdisciplinary approaches, and the openness among the participant Fellows of the CHS Greece. I am grateful for the support offered to me by the Center of Hellenic Studies during a difficult pandemic year, where research resources were limited. The access to Harvard's online resources was very conducive to my project.

About Maria NikolopoulouMaria Nikolopoulou

Maria Nikolopoulou belongs to the Laboratory and Teaching Staff of the Department of Philology, National and Κapodistrian University of Athens, where she teaches Modern Greek literature. She studied Classics at the National and Κapodistrian University of Athens. She obtained an MA and a Ph.D. in Modern Greek Literature in the Department of Modern Greek Studies, King's College London (supervisor: Prof. Roderick Beaton), as a scholarship recipient. She has been a Research Fellow of the Centre for Advanced Study, Sofia, and the Athens School of Fine Arts. She has taught at the University of Patras and the Greek Open University. Her research interests include the reception of women’s writing, the role of literature in the construction of the memory of historical events, the role of periodicals in the history of ideas, and the post-war avant-garde.

Fellowships in Comparative Cultural Studies

The Fellowships in Comparative Cultural Studies program was established in 2008 and has welcomed dozens of educators from Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences from Greek Universities. Find out more about this research opportunity on the Fellowships in Comparative Cultural Studies webpage.

[1] Maria Nikolopoulou, “The Transfer and Appropriations of the Beat Generation in Greece” στο Harri Veivo, Petra James, Dorota Walczak-Delanois (eds.), Beat Literature in a divided Europe, Brill-Rodopi, Leiden 2019, p. 101-131. 13.
Μαρία Νικολοπούλου, «Η αμήχανη ανάδυση του Underground και το αίτημα της διπλής πρωτοπορίας στο λογοτεχνικό πεδίο της Μεταπολίτευσης», in Effie Gazi, Kostis Kornetis, Manos Avgeridis (eds.), Μεταπολίτευση: Η Ελλάδα στο μεταίχμιο δύο αιώνων, Themelio, Athens 2015, 263-282.
[2] The Reception of American Literature in Greece in the Long 1960s (video)