The House with the Scorpions: Selected Poems and Song-Lyrics of Mikis Theodorakis

In Greece Mikis Theodorakis is a national icon. He is the countrys most famous composer and a figure who has spent his life struggling against injustice and oppression in his own country and elsewhere. He has been jailed and tortured for his beliefs continuing to produce a stream of music and poetry despite his suffering. It is time that his own poetry was recognized as an important element in his creative life. In an age where Bob Dylan can win a Nobel Prize and Leonard Cohens lyrics are treasured as poems it is also time to recognize the importance of the song-lyric as a literary form. Gail Holst-Warhaft who has spent many years working with the composer as a musician biographer and translator has translated all of the composers lyrics and combined them with Theodorakiss virtually unknown poems. Together they reveal a man whose passion for poetry was the wellspring of his creativity. The book presents Theodorakiss poems and lyrics in Greek and English. This makes it clear that the translations do not obey the rhyme-scheme of the originals but try to maintain rhythmic patterns that are satisfying to the English ear. This book is not only a collection of Theodorakiss poetry but the record of an extraordinary life.