Stamatis Polenakis

Stamatis L. Polenakis (grandson of the Sifnian cartoonist Stamatis Polenakis and son of Leandros Polenakis) was born in Athens in 1970. He studied in the Department of Spanish Literature at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. He is a poet and playwright. He has published the poetry collections "The Hand of Time" (Omvros, 2002), "The Blue Horses of Franz Marc" (Odos Panos, 2006), "Notre Dame" (Odos Panos, 2008), "The Steps of Odessa" (Mikri Arktos, 2012), "The Glorious Stone" (Mikri Arktos, 2014), and "The Roses of Mercedes" (Mikri Arktos, 2016), which was awarded the State Poetry Prize, alongside Chloe Koutsoumpeli's collection "The Tablemates of the Other Land," and the poetry prize from the magazine "O Anagnostis" in 2017. His poems have been published in literary magazines ("To Dentro," "(de)kata," "Poetiki," "Poetry Review") and anthologies ("Cross-Section," "Austerity Measures," etc.). His poems have been translated into English by Yiannis Goumas and mainly by Richard Pierce, as well as into Spanish, Italian, and German. He has translated from Spanish the plays "Chat" (in a collaborative translation) and "Your Tender Molotov" by Gustavo Ott (Lagoudera Editions, 2008). He is the author of the monologue "The Last Dream of Emily Dickinson," which was presented in 2007 as part of the Theatrical Readings (organized by ITI UNESCO) (performed by Ioanna Tsirigouli, directed by Efi Theodorou) and in 2008 (performed by Karyofyllia Karabeti, directed by Sotiris Karamesinis) at the HSBC Greek Work Festival. In December 2010, the play was broadcast by Radio Romania Cultural in Romania, performed by Valeria Seciu, and in September 2011, it represented Romania at the 63rd International Radio and Television Festival Prix Italia in Turin. "The Last Dream of Emily Dickinson" has been translated into English by Richard Pierce, into French by Myrto Gontika, and into Romanian by Cezaria Udrescu. In May 2012, it was presented in English at the theater of the Hellenic American Union, directed by Athina Stourna and performed by actress Monica McShane. The play "Fish Soup" was presented in 2009 at the Experimental Stage of the National Theatre as part of the "Readings" (directed by Eleni Georgopoulou), featuring actors Manos Vakousis, Dimitris Piatas, Emilia Valvi, and Maria Tsima. "Fish Soup" has been translated into French by Jacqueline Razgonnikoff. In 2010, the Okypos Theatre Company staged his play "Berlin" at the Annex of the National Gallery in Nafplio and at the Fournos Theatre in Athens (performed by Iliana Pazarzi, Dimitris Karabetsis, directed by Athina Stourna). "Berlin" has been translated into French by Jacqueline Razgonnikoff. In July 2009, he was invited as a fellow at the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators on the island of Gotland, Sweden. In September 2009, he participated in the "Dramaticulas" playwrights' meeting in Buenos Aires with a reading of the play "Berlin" in Spanish. Additionally, his poems were read in Salta (Northern Argentina) at the Casa de Hernandez- Museo de la Ciudad. His work "Winter Journey" was presented in September 2016 at the Art Theatre as part of the "Analogy" Festival (performed by Nikos Anastasopoulos, Iliana Pazarzi, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, directed by Athina Stourna). He is a member of the Society of Authors.