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Issue 7 - The Mythomaniacs

 

EDITORIAL

Steven Tagle is the recipient of a 2016 Asian American Writers’ Workshop Margins Fellowship, a 2016-2017 Creative Writing Fulbright to Greece, and a 2013 Soros Fellowship. He recently graduated from the UMass Amherst MFA Program, where he received the Harvey Swados Fiction Prize and the Deborah Slosberg Memorial Award in Fiction. He has been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, New Delta Review, Spork, and The Rumpus.

HOLLYWEIRD

My name is Aris Kleiotis, and I’m a third-year undergraduate student in the Department of English Language and Literature at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. A university student by day and an aspiring poet by night, my academic studies merge with creative experimentations. Through my poetic writing, I endeavor to build an imaginary world that I can jump into to evade reality. Literature is the primary subject of my studies, and I draw inspiration from various literary currents in order to enhance my poems. My manuscript “Hollyweird” combines the myth of The Odyssey with contemporary references in order to revitalize the myth according to the Modernists’ motto, “Make it new.”

LIFE IN TECHNICOLOR PIXELS

My name is Eleni Myrtsioti, and I am an International Relations graduate, currently pursuing my second BA in English. The School of English has opened incredible future vistas for me. Living in an era of overspecialization in education and the workplace, I vehemently believe that creativity can only flourish while embracing and experimenting diverse possibilities. I could always imagine myself translating other people’s stories, but I surprisingly found myself in the opposite side of the spectrum, experimenting with writing myself. Caring about adult education, equal opportunities, women in technology and the workplace. Immensely fascinated by the urban landscape.

ARROW AND LOVE

My name is Katherine Edwards, and I am a fourth-year undergraduate student in the English Language and Literature Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. An aspiring author of the fantastical and an amateur spoken word poet, my prose merges with performative poetry. I am intensely interested in the notion of soul mates and focus on how love, lust, and pain transform the psyche of my characters. My collection of spoken word poems “Arrow & Love” re-imagines the myth of Eros and Soul in a war-plagued Earth, where Pagan and Christian religions clash in an attempt to establish their authority over humanity.

POSTMORTEM PRESENT

My name is Hara Tsoukaneri, and I am a graduate of the School of English Language and Literature at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Passionate about translation, teaching, and writing, I am still trying to figure out which one will win me over. Until then, I’m juggling between being an English language teacher, a freelancer translator, and a subtitler. My creative endeavors are oriented towards fantasy and science fiction. My short story “Postmortem Present” explores the myth of Pandora in the modern setting of a war zone.

PROMETHEUS AT COLONUS

I am Elena Liapopoulou Adamidou, and I am currently an undergraduate student in the School of English at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. I’ve felt the need to put memories, thoughts, emotions, or anything else that strikes me down on paper for some years now. I simply find writing to be the best method of expression I have—or maybe I find it to be the worst method of expression I have, as I still haven’t found the right words to really fulfill my need. Either way, the result is the same: I will continue writing.

WHAT IS THE BODY?

My name is Alexandros Tzitzios, and I am an undergraduate student in the School of English at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Exposure to literature since the beginning of my studies has nurtured my fiery disposition to the literary arts. The enlightening words of admirable writers, along with the exemplar of a fellow poet, prompted me to scribble my first lines. “What Is the Body?” is an experimental attempt to vocalize the struggle caused by the gluttonous vampire of capitalism, while its avant-garde aesthetic seeks to inspire liberating resistance.

MEDUSA

My name is Maria Tsaousidou, and I am in my final year of studies in the Department of English Language and Literature at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. I’ve read literature since I was little, and when I decided to experiment with writing something myself, I realized that this habit would become part of my life. I have published articles and reviews on cinema and literature in a couple of online arts magazines. I wish to work in the publishing sector.

DIASPORA

My name is Eirini Bouraki, and I am an undergraduate student in the School of English at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. I love all forms of expression, though I have always preferred expressing myself through writing. Self-motivated and curious, with a passion for the unknown and the unexpected, I love meeting and interacting with new people and gaining new experiences from each encounter. Interested in creative education, volunteering, writing, multiculturalism, humanities, social affairs, cultural studies, theater, and languages, I hope that someday I will find my true calling. In my short story “Diaspora,” I imagine an interview between the Venus de Milo statue and a young Greek woman of the American diaspora as a vehicle to meditate about timeless truths, about Greek heritage, and about identity and self-definition.