Celebration for 100 years of Ritsos birth

On Tuesday, March 31st, a festival will be held to honor the Greek poet Giannis Ritsos. With the occasion of the 100 years from his birth, the Municipal Company for the Cultural Promotion and Development of Mykonos organizes an evening dedicated to him. Critics will talk of his work, his poems and proze will be read and his songs will be sung. This event will take place in the room of the Municipal Company in Matogianni and will start at 08.00 p.m. Giannis Ritsos was born in 1909 in Monevmvasia and became one of the greatest Greek poets. His works were inspired by a communist political belief. He himself was exiled many times in remote Aegean islands for his beliefs. In 1956, he got the Greek National Poetry Award and in 1977, the Lenin Peace Award. Ritsos became famous to the public when his poems were set to music by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. He died in 1990, disappointed by the fall of communism in the Soviet Union.