curation: Fil Ieropoulos

Is it a game? Is it a poem? Is it a song? Pokemon Poetry is a cross-media project that began
in 2012 by poet and researcher Foivos Dousos, who wrote a small collection of poems, providing an answer to the question of a traditionalist Greek poet whether “the generation of pokemon kids can write poetry.” The thematic of pokemon poetry in the context of #TextMe_Lab will last three days and consist of three events: On the first day of the event, poems on pokemon characters will be read by a series of new poets and performers of the Athenian scene. On the second day of the event, Foivos Dousos will organise a poetry treasure hunt in the streets of Athens using the augmented reality application, Echoes. On the last day, mezzo-soprano Ioanna Forti and pianist Alexandros Drosos will present a series of songs on pokemon, an act which was first showcased at Sound Acts identity and performance festival in 2015.

PokemonPoetry is the first event of #TextMe_Lab. The Lab aspires to transform ATOPOS space into a research centre with a series of lectures, discussions, workshops, performances and small exhibitions. All events focus on hybrid languages arising at the intersection of text and other artistic media. Programming themes include: 20th century visual poetry, spoken word performance, the relation between poetry and sound art, and contemporary linguistic phenomena, such as internet pop-culture and new media, and the relation between words and screens.

Schedule:

27 April, 19:00-21:00 – Pokemon Poetry Slam, Ten young poets read Pokemon Poems. Personal stories, video game memories, childhood traumas and other poetic questions emerge. Participants: Margarita Athanasiou, Giannis Galiatsos, Nikos Georgiou, Charis Zofos, Katerina, Panos Koutoulias, George Miliarakis, Manos Bazanis, Anatoli Sofra, Kangela Tromokratisch (GR)

28 April, 12:00-16:00 – Pokemon Poetry Go, Workshop and a poetic treasure hunt around central Athens (GR)

29 April, 19:00-21:00 – Pokemon Poetry, a Song Cycle for Mezzo-soprano and Piano, Live (GR)

Entrance Free

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Hospitality Sponsors
KTIMA EVHARIS
CITRUS
FIMI DRINKS

Supporting Creativity
NEON

With the support of
Athens Culture Net
Founding donor Stavros Niarchos Foundation

As part of
Athens 2018 World Book Capital