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With the People from the Bridge (excerpt)
Dimitris Lyacos
Dimitris Lyacos (born 1966, in
Athens) is a leading figure in the
contemporary avant-garde. His
trilogy Poena Damni (Z213: EXIT,
With the People from the Bridge,
The First Death), has been
translated into six languages and is
performed in the US and Europe.
This work developed gradually
over twenty years, inspiring also
drama, contemporary dance, video
and sculpture installations, opera and contemporary music.
Classified as postmodern and cross-genre, the trilogy relies
in fact on a well-defined structure exploring classical
themes: the scapegoat, the return of the dead, physical
suffering and mental illness. A journey to a mystifying,
unfamiliar world straddles and crosses perceived
boundaries of literary form. The outcome is an alternate,
allegorical universe, reaching beyond dystopia in an
attempt to forge a new myth.
Translated from the Greek by Shorsha Sullivan.