Thule: The white isle
Description
Ancient Thule is an island mentioned by the ancient Greek explorer Pytheas, who, around 325 BC, travelled from southern Spain to Great Britain. According to his writings, Thule is located in the 'far north', six days north of Britain. That is why the name of Thule has been used to signify the most northern edge (lat. ultima Thule) of the world since antiquity.
The poem In This House, included in the poetic anthology THULE, was awarded the First Prize at the 2010 Panhellenic Poetry Contest by the Literary Society 'Halcyonides' of the Municipality of Corinth, Greece and, in December 2011, thirteen of the poems also included in the same collection received Honourable Mention in the 28th Panhellenic Poetry Contest by the Literary Society 'PARNASSOS'. Furthermore, twenty of the poems included in the same collection were awarded the Honorary Prize of the World Poetry Competition "K.P.Kavafis" 2015 by the International Art Academy.
Author Bio
Kostas Papapostolou is a mechanical and electrical engineer and lives in Athens, Greece. He has published two poetry collections: POEMATA [POEMS] (1982) in Larissa by KERAMOS Publications, and O MEGALOS KYKLOS [THE BIG CIRCLE]) (2005) in Athens by GABRIELIDIS Publications. THULE is his third poems collection.
The poem "In This House", included in the poetic anthology THULE, was awarded the First Prize at the 2010 Panhellenic Poetry Contest by the Literary Society 'Halcyonides' of the Municipality of Corinth, Greece. In December 2011, thirteen of the poems also included in the same collection received Honourable Mention in the 28th Panhellenic Poetry Contest by the Literary Society 'PARNASSOS'. Furthermore, twenty of the poems included in the same collection were awarded the Honorary Prize of the World Poetry Competition "K.P.Kavafis" 2015 by the International Art Academy.
He also has two poetry blogs: one with Greek poetry www.mistyhopes.blogspot.com and the other with foreign, personal, and international poetry, essays, etc. www.kpapapostolou.blogspot.com.
The poetry of Kostas Papapostolou has all the characteristics of his generation, the 70s generation. Common features of this generation are its conscious inclusion in the margins of intellectual creation and a critical self-reflection. The notions of confinement, isolation, remembrance, and ambivalence constitute common poetic motifs running through this poetry The liminality of Kostas Papapostolou prompts him to poetically attempt to retrieve fragments from the deepest and most broken part of himself, an often painful kind of poetry, which is not only concerned with death but also with those who choose life and chronicle a course between the highest and lowest points of the human psyche and life's joys. That is why many of his poems keep a frantic pace and their starting point appears to be in a story that rarely reaches a conclusion. Thus, the beginning of the narrative remains unresolved and unsettled, many times ending abruptly, as if it recoils in order not to reveal itself and leads to the creation of a type of poetry that immerses us in terror because that is how one becomes more aware of the futility of being.