It is with feelings of profound sadness and sorrow that we bid farewell today to Lefkios Zafeiriou, an important poet, philologist, talented and gifted writer and scholar. Our letters lose a special writer and man and Cyprus loses one of the most genuine exponents of its struggles for democracy and freedom. At the same time, and an educator with a rich contribution to the educational events of our country, with a special contribution to the Greek letters of Cyprus.
After his first difficult childhood and teenage years in Larnaca, during which he wrote and published his first poems in newspapers and magazines, Lefkios Zafeiriou went to Athens to study philology, at a critical time for Hellenism, which coincided with the period of the dictatorship.
After his first difficult childhood and teenage years in Larnaca, during which he wrote and published his first poems in newspapers and magazines, Lefkios Zafeiriou went to Athens to study philology, at a critical time for Hellenism, which coincided with the period of the dictatorship. There he met important literary figures and came into contact with poets his own age, the Generation of the Seventy, as it later came to be called. In the same city he published his first poetry collection in 1975.
His childhood and adolescent memories in Larnaca - and especially the figure of his mother, also a poet, Nefeli, who passed away prematurely - are vividly reflected in his poetry, angry and denunciatory in his early collections. These are dominated by the theme of the Cypriot tragedy, presented through the mirrors of anti-conformism, sarcasm, irony and bitterness about what led Hellenism and Cyprus in particular to the historical adventure of 1974. In the late collections, L. Zafiriou's poetry becomes more subdued and contemplative, more aware of the limits and limitations of human nature. What stands out in these collections is the literary metamorphosis of aspects of the life of those imprisoned in the occupied Rizokarpaso, in whose Gymnasium the poet worked.
For the history of our literature, L. Zafiriou is one of the most emblematic representatives of the poetry of the Invasion Generation.
For the history of our literature, L. Zafiriou is one of the most emblematic representatives of the poetry of the Invasion Generation. A generation that emerged from the ruins of the Cypriot tragedy and was defined to a significant extent by the Trauma of 1974. We do not omit, of course, his prose work, for which he was awarded state literary prizes, as well as for two of his poetry collections. Both his poetry and prose are imbued with the values of militancy, democracy, freedom and dignity on a collective and individual level. The tendencies of compromise, defeatism and complacency are emphatically denounced by the writer.
Moreover, L. Zafeiriou participated actively in the cultural life and especially in the literary events of Cyprus for several decades. He was a founding member of the Cyprus Writers' Union, from which, a few weeks before his death, he was awarded the "G. F. Pierides" Award for Overall Contribution. He was co-editor of the literary magazines Akti, Sign and Ylandron. Through this activity, but also through his uninterrupted contact with writers and intellectuals of Greece, Zafeiriou emerged as an agent of our letters, whose main characteristics are modesty, discretion and courtesy. Of particular importance is that he always acted as an active link between the wider Greek and Cypriot Greek literature. His close collaboration with important contemporary personalities of Greek letters leaves a permanent imprint on the world of literature. He also developed very good relations with the University of Cyprus, to which he donated his library and archive. In particular, his cooperation with the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies of the same university was close.
As a philologist, L. Zafiriou has made a significant contribution both to our education and to individual areas of modern Greek philology. As a teacher he worked in secondary schools. The period during which he served at the Rizokarpaso High School is special. In his educational career, his service at the Cyprus Pedagogical Academy, where he taught the subject of Literature, and his work at the Programme Development Service, in collaboration with other philologists, for the editing and publication of the Textbooks of Cypriot High School Literature, stand out.
To Lefkios Zafiriou we owe the well-written book Modern Cypriot literature: a grammatological sketch, which was originally published as notes for his students at the Cyprus Pedagogical Academy.
On the other hand, his interest extended to the wider field of modern Greek literature and especially to Calvinist studies.
On the other hand, his interest extended to the wider field of modern Greek literature and especially to Calvinist studies. In the last decades of his life he concentrated on the study of the life and work of Andreas Kalvos. A major achievement of Lefkios in this area was the discovery of the Calvin ode "Elpis patridos" in the library of the University of Glasgow in 2003, which he reissued with notes. This was followed in 2006 by the book "The life and work of Andreas Kalvos", in which manuscripts and letters of the Zakynthian poet are published and the history of the discovery of the above latent ode is presented, for which he was awarded the Kostas and Eleni Ouranis Prize of the Academy of Athens. In 2018 he published the book "Overtime and Supplements in the Biography of Andreas Kalvos", for which he was awarded the State Study Prize.
The anthropocentric character of L. Zafiriou's writing and his sensitivity to major global problems are constantly recurring trends throughout his career in the field of our letters. In an interview two years ago he stated: "Let us not forget that humanity has lived and is living tragedies today. There are refugees, unaccompanied children and disease. Furthermore, as he stressed, he felt bitterness and disappointment at the continuing semi-occupation of Cyprus.
Therefore, the significant educational value of L. Zafeiriou's literary work, his literary personality as an active intellectual for many decades, his firm belief in values and ideals that exalt and elevate man, is the legacy he leaves us. A legacy precious for our education and our letters, at a time rocked by successive crises, questioning of humanitarian values, new outbreaks of war and renewed international instability.
All those who had the good fortune to know Lefkio are proud of his attitude to life, his contribution and his work. His brothers, Toti, the poet Michalis Zafiris and the poetess Frosoula Kolosiatou, as well as the world of letters and education as a whole can also be proud. We in our Ministry are equally proud of the fact that Lefkios, whom we bid farewell to today, served and honoured our education, and not only education, with dedication and inspiration.
To the brothers, family and loved ones of Lefkios Zafiriou, I express the sincere condolences of the State and myself personally.
May his memory live on.
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Note: The eulogy was read on behalf of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth by the Director of Secondary General Education, Mr. Kyprianos Louis.
IP
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