This edition gathers the proceedings of the 2nd scientific conference held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on April 16-17, 2011, to honor the great teacher, author, poet, and people's bard K. Varnalis.

Our intention was for this conference, like the previous one for Giannis Ritsos, to approach the subject comprehensively, dialectically, lively, and not formally, academically, and pretentiously. In other words, its content is not addressed to a narrow circle of specialists and initiates, but to anyone interested in knowing and understanding the pioneering art of our time through the work of one of its most significant forerunners.

This edition is directed at anyone who is tired of the pseudo-modernism of the art of escape, of navel-gazing, and of introspection, and who seeks a 'bright fracture' in art that awakens popular consciousness, like that of Varnalis. Above all, it is aimed at the working class and its future shift, because the struggle for cultural emancipation is an inseparable aspect of the broader struggle for overall social liberation.

Moreover, the lively, direct, juicy, straightforward, and satirical language of Kostas Varnalis speaks directly to the people. It does not record, does not ascertain, does not console. It cuts like a knife. It is an aesthetic-spiritual weapon, an unwavering guide in the class struggle.

[Excerpt from the foreword text]