Antipodes Festival is proud to present Amphibian Fate, a bilingual poetry and music night to celebrate the work of renowned Greek poet Nikos Kavvadias on June 5 at Melba Hall.

Kavvadias visited Australia in the 1950s, and was particularly inspired by

Melbourne. He spoke of the city in the poem, Yara Yara, while another of his poems, The Southern Cross, has since become a popular Greek song.

Kavvadias was born in China in 1910 and grew up on the island of Cephallonia, Greece before embarking on his long journeys upon ocean freighters as a wireless operator.

He chased “the lines of the horizons”, conversed with marabous, waited endlessly in the fog for his sweetheart, invited us to “dance on the fin of a shark” and sung of the “deeper stain” of humanity and of the “holy rust” that births us.

2011 marks 60 years since his visit to Melbourne. He arrived aboard a migrant ship and spent a few days exploring the city and its surroundings before he embarked for the next port. He spent his whole life at sea.

Local poets and musicians will pay tribute to the poet of the sea in this bilingual event which will feature poets, Angela Costi, Dimitri Troaditis, Nick Trakakis, Dean Kalymniou and Dina Gerolymou reading Kavvadias’ works in Greek and English.

Concert pianist Elizabeth Exindaris, accompanied by vocalist Christiana Aloneftis will present works by Greek composers Thanos Mikroutsikos and Mariza Koch who wrote music for many of Kavvadias’ poems.

Mikroutsikos was shot to fame after producing the hugely successful album The Southern Cross in the 1980s and since he’s been performing Kavvadia every year in sold out events.

When: Sunday 5^th June, 6pm

Where: Melba Hall, Royal Parade, Parkville, Melbourne

Tickets: $15

All proceeds will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Project.

Media enquiries:   Dina Gerolymou on 0412 182 764.