Kyriakos Charalambides - The Poet

Text: Pieris Panayi / Photos: Archive of Kyriakos Charalambides

One of Cyprus’ most esteemed living intellectuals, approaches the world through poetry. With simplicity and sensitivity, he speaks of art, life, and the small yet precious moments that define it.

Photo: Maximillian Godecke

Kyriakos Charalambides’ relationship with poetry began in his early childhood. Even before reaching adolescence, he was captivated by language and rhythm – a fascination that only grew with the passage of time. “At the age of nine, I started writing poems. Mediocre, nothing significant. After all, you start from the insignificant to reach the significant. Poetry is born with the person. It’s just that the person doesn’t know it. I was fortunate to realise it early and, to the extent that it was mine to bear, I took on the responsibility. Strangely, I believed I had been given such a command. Perhaps I even exceeded the limits of my role. But aren’t all things, even the salvation of the world, based on transcending logic?”

But how does a child, at such a young and impressionable age, discover poetry? “Many times I’m asked if a poet is born. Certainly, the seed of artistic creation, the so-called calling, is a fundamental prerequisite. That is clear. But talent alone is not enough; it requires work. Patient, persistent and laborious work. So, the poet is born and then becomes. And this is intertwined with various aspects of life and the world: to wander like Odysseus, to study, to contemplate, to struggle, to fall in love, to hurt. Above all, to hurt.”

Today, Kyriakos Charalambides is 85 years old. For more than seven decades, he has been writing. “From a young age, I had established myself in the minds of others as a poet. I grew up with this identity and continue to write every day. I am constantly practicing and learning from my art.”

Participation in the Festival A tribute to Cyprus Literature (1984)

With the artist Adamantios Diamantis (1992)

FAMILY AND INFLUENCES

His father started as a stone carver, then became a police inspector and participated in both World War I and World War II. The poet also remembers a phrase from his mother, who would often say, “My son makes poems!” She used the verb poio (a Greek term for ‘create’), from which the word poetry is derived, and she took pride in it. “Through my family, I received the unwavering affection and acceptance for who I was.” This emotional support and the lifelong thirst for knowledge and creation provided him with the foundation to develop his artistic voice without limitations and with complete acceptance of his art.

Concert Ammochostos Vasilevousa (2004) with music by Marios Tokas.

Photo: Rissos Harissis

FAMAGUSTA AND THE ART OF CYPRUS

Referring to the special connection he had with Famagusta –where he grew up– Kyriakos Charalambides highlights the significance the city held both in the island’s literature and in his own art. Famagusta, particularly before 1974, was a centre of culture and intellectual creation. For him, life there and his connection with nature were formative experiences. “Nature is of great importance for a child, who wonders and becomes a receiver of the world. Nature is not only what we see, but also what we give it in terms of colour and horizon.” Childhood, he says, is made up of the things we loved, that nurtured us, and that we carry within us always. “The white sands of Famagusta, the flowers by the shore, the fragrant orange trees, the reeds, the summer moons, the images of Cyprus’ pristine nature, all hold a permanent place in my memory.”

Photo: Rissos Harissis

TRAGEDY AND POETRY

After the Turkish invasion of 1974, Kyriakos Charalambides’ poetry took on a new dimension, approaching Cyprus’ social and political conditions with profound spirituality. The sense of loss and trauma is deeply embedded in his work. However, his poetic voice is not confined to Cyprus or the wounds of his homeland. It carries a universal essence and is recognised beyond the borders of Cyprus and Greece. He is considered one of the greatest poets, whose work radiates a profound humanism.

After all, the way he writes poetry is like looking through a magnifying glass. Focusing on profound human themes such as identity, memory, and pain comes with a great risk? “If you engage with them and rely solely on emotion, you’ll find yourself on an artistic decline. Your art will become merely descriptive and take on a consumable character. It takes effort and spiritual transformation to transcend one’s own geographical coordinates. That is what I strive to do every time.” And what is the ultimate goal of every poem? “Words are charged with symbolism. The essence lies in escaping their weight. The goal is supreme sensitivity.”

RECOGNITION AND SUCCESS

Kyriakos Charalambides’ work has been internationally recognised. At his induction into the Academy of Athens, Kiki Dimoula referred to his poetry as one of the most distinguished voices in modern Greek literature. His potential nomination for the Nobel Prize is now an open discussion within literary circles, reflecting the global significance of his work.

Welcoming reception of the poet as a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens (2013), Photo: Theodore and Athanasios Anagnostopoulos (Photo Press)

Bo-Lennard Eklund, Emeritus Professor of Modern Greek Language and Literature at the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, has described Kyriakos Charalambides as a future Nobel laureate and stated that he would wholeheartedly support his nomination. In fact, as early as 2014, a group of professors from the University of Cyprus formally proposed his candidacy for the Nobel Prize. More recently, in 2024, the University of Athens submitted his name to the Swedish Academy and has already announced its intention to do so again this year. “I learned about it after the fact, and it moved me deeply. But I do not know if our state truly has the capacity to grasp its significance,” he reflects.

Awarding Ceremony to an Honorary Doctor of the Philosophical School of the University of Cyprus (2024), Photo: Miranda Antoniou

I wonder if the passing of time troubles him. “Very much, but not in terms of biological time as a prelude to death. What saddens me is that my creative time is narrowing – I may not have enough to bring to life all that I have in mind.” So, what is his relationship with time? “Time is an emptiness, as Paul Valéry said. I suppose it waits for us to fill it, to animate it with our own time. The biological cycle offers us the greatest gift – the acceptance of existence, the self-cultivation of love.”

The volume Kyriakos Charalambides: Mosaics of Poetry and Life by Rissos Harissis is available at select locations.