Cicada

by Phoebe Giannisi, Φοίβη Γιαννίση, Brian Sneeden (Translator)

The celebrated Greek poet Phoebe Giannisi explores connections between language, life, and the natural world By one of Greece’s foremost contemporary poets, Cicada is Phoebe Giannisi’s second collection in English. The cicada signifies metamorphosis in this breathtaking, lyrical book, which evokes the spirits of Archilochus, Plato, Empedocles, and Heraclitus. As the translator Brian Sneeden “The ‘I’ in Giannisi’s poetry is never static, never a fixed point, but part of a process of rebodying the ambient.” Yet, despite the fluid, mythic nature of Giannisi’s poems, they are also exquisitely rooted in the the sea heard through a window, the murmur of a distant mechanical crane, a damp wind, a photo of John and Yoko. Giannisi is a poet internationally known for her idiosyncratic eco-poetics, as well as her poetic multimedia works and performances, and most of all for her brilliant vision glowing at the borders of language, voice, place, and memory.

Genres: Poetry, Greece

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Ana Campos · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars; The beginning was good, and then it lost me towards the middle. The end brought me back in and I loved it, I wish there was more!

[lexi ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-2.5

i really wanted to like this more, i love delving into poetry/prose every now & then

maybe i just wasn’t in the mood for it because i do like the greek mythology & some lines did capture my attention, but as a whole it didn’t resonate with me much

[banagiota spoltidou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Χαίρε Φοίβη

[Naomi Hagelund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Katherine.rothstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great selection of poems across varying styles. Loved Giannisi's usage of greek mythology. The last one stuck with me.

Testimony:
You, cicada,
you don't exist anymore
I'm coming to find you
I'm combing the tamarisks
the sea exhales
from wind
a plastic bag
hanging from the branches
you, cicada
you don't exist anymore
the black eyes of summer
are closing their eyelids

[Mentai · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems that touch the material world, especially the earlier cicada poems are standout. Also the prose poetry stood out as getting us somewhere different than where we started. But I longed for more questioning, more openings: between things and words.

[L]

"cicadas
attendants to the muses
did nothing but sing
ceaselessly
to die in the end
fam-
ished
singing with the authority of an empty stomach"
-'Winged Words, Part II', pg. 11

"all that we name by knowing
and all we name without knowing
language
blind"
- 'Phaleron', pg. 27

"Strife stand apart
parting one into many"
- 'Earth and Sky', pg. 51

"when the soul inverts the soil of itself
inside itself
when the soul inverts
the soil inside it
rare double root
you inhaled
air and light"
-'Horse, Part II', pg. 57

"now they seek their own ghosts
in the pauses
between grains of sand"
-'Eos and Tithonus', pg69

"Lying in the sand
a snake
licks my face
behind so many eyelids
eyelids of silence"
- 'Tiresias', pg. 70

"Lit with a borrowed brightness, wandering the earth" - Parmenides

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You, cicada
you don't exist anymore
I'm coming to find you"

Giannisi and the translator have a way with words. Originally written in Greek, Cicada is a book about love, life, and its many surprises. It weaves the mythological with reality by using lyrical poetry inspired by famous Greek poets. What was particularly interesting about this book was how the author wrote poetry-prose like a stream of consciousness, using repetition to create an evocative read. Definitely recommend it to any fan of Anne Carson!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 So so special. Perfect read for August and the end of the summer. I still don't understand some of the poems but overall a beautiful collection. Some new favorites here.

[Maya]

how the cicadas stubbornly kept singing
even after sunset
how the sea was calm at morning and restless by noon

Review to come

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Roman Cyngiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect

"you, cicada
you don’t exist anymore
the black eyes of summer
are closing their eyelids"

[Poppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Emily! 🪲

[Tiffanie Pirault · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea!

[Elijah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked some of the Greek myth imagery. Regrettably, not much else.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really really loved this and it's a perfect summer collection