transpolia (fragments re-set)

TRANSPOLIA dot com houses SPOLIA – elements transplanted from their original contexts into new structures. Fragments found when TRANSlating for others. Disparate texts discovered inside disparate texts, pulled out and placed here. Imbued with traces of their origins, in this space they are (together) new.

a ballad of erotic passion
bursting from a heart on fire
or a deeply charged lament
for the loss of one’s beloved

Georgios Fedros, describing a “manéros” in his academic treatise “On the Smyrnean Amanés” (1881).

ἆσμα ἐκφράζον πάθος
ἐξ ἔρωτος φλεγομένης καρδίας
ἢ βαρεῖαν λύπην
ἐπὶ ἀπωλεία προσφιλοῦς ὄντος

Taken from a text written for the Stella with a Sigma album Up and Away, produced by Redinho and released by Sub Pop in 2022.

The full text can be found in the dubitandum “pangs ⋮ raptures” (see yellow boxes below).

A life ⋮ forever here.

A life without surprises.
Just the same old (dull) same old…
A life that’s like a film
you’ve seen before
(no twists, no turns).
Like a week that never ends,
a week without weekends…

But my darling love when I am with you,
I’m up high in seventh heaven,
somewhere in among the stars,
nestled tightly in your arms
like a sparrow in its nest,
and well there’s nothing more I need,
no, there’s nothing more I want –
oh God, how hard I love you! –
and as my eyelids flicker closed
I pray that I can stay
forever here…

Lyrics from the song “High in Seventh Heaven”
by Déspina Vandí (2004)

Μια ζωή δίχως εκπλήξεις,
βαρετή μ’ επαναλήψεις.
Μια ζωή ταινία που έχεις δει
δίχως ανατροπές.
Βδομάδα δίχως Σάββατα και Κυριακές.

Μα όταν ειμ’ αγάπη μου μαζί σου
στην αυλή του παραδείσου,
κάπου ανάμεσα στ’ αστέρια
στη φωλιά απ’ τα δυο σου χέρια
και κουρνιάζω σαν σπουργίτι,
τίποτ’ άλλο δε μου λείπει,
τίποτ’ άλλο δε ζητάω,
Θέε μου πόσο σ’ αγαπάω
και τα βλέφαρά μου κλείνω
και προσεύχομαι να μείνω
για πάντα εδώ…

Music and lyrics by Phoebus.

Translated for (and taken from) the subtitles for the feature film The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea by Syllas Tzoumerkas (2019).

arkhæio
THE MIRACLE OF THE SARGASSO SEA

A mutilated ⋮ death.

A mutilated horse watches intently for the arrival
Of processions that shall not come again.
Others shall come instead, men in white coats
Engineers, workers, indifferent to these mysteries.
And at the fixed hour, the factories blazon
The arrival: a procession of shadows and secrets
Lost in the eyes of a horse
Holding vigil over its own death.

Jacques Lacarrière, untitled poem written after a visit to Elefsina (ancient Eleusis)

Un cheval mutilé guette l’arrivée
De cortèges qui ne reviendront plus.
D’autres viendront, hommes en blouse blanche
Ingénieurs, ouvriers, indifférents à ces mystères.
Et les usines crieront à heure fixe
L’arrivée du cortège des ombres et des secrets
Perdus dans les yeux d’un cheval
Veillant sa propre mort.

Ένα ακρωτηριασμένο άλογο παραφυλάει την άφιξη
πομπών που πια δε θα ξανάρθουν.
Άλλοι θα ‘ρθουν ντυμένοι μ’ άσπρες μπλούζες,
Μηχανικοί, εργάτες, αδιάφοροι για τούτα τα μυστήρια.
Και τα εργοστάσια να ξεφωνίζουν την ίδια ώρα πάντα κάθε βράδυ
την άφιξη της πομπής των σκιών
Και τα μυστικά τα χαμένα στα μάτια ενός αλόγου
που ξενυχτάει τον ίδιο του τον θάνατο.

This poem was published in an afterword to Jacques Lacarrière’s 1993 book L’été grec (Greek Summer).

Translated for (and taken from) the essay titled “PANIGÍRI: Live Cinema – The Working Class – Sirens” written by Syllas Tzoumerkas for the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival publication On the Threshold (TiDF25).

PANIGÍRI was a live cinema festival curated by Syllas Tzoumerkas for the Mysteries of Transition programme (2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture – MYSTERY 84).

For the original French, see: Jacques Lacarrière, “Postface. Retours en Grèce 1976-1982: Carte d’identité grecque,” in L’été grec: Une Grèce quotidienne de 4000 ans (Paris: Plon 1993 [1975]), 426–432.

For the Greek translation from the French by Haris Papadopoulos, see: Jacques Lacarrière, Erotikó Lexikó tis Elládas (Athens: Hatzinikoli 2007).

arkhæio
MYSTERIES OF TRANSITION ON THE THRESHOLD

All ⋮ in and of itself.

All materials are self-determining,
each with their own singular capacities.
My desire is always to discover
a material’s simplest functions,
and to work with the possibilities it offers up
in and of itself.

Niki Kanagini on desire (date unknown)

Κάθε υλικό είναι αυτόνομο,
με τις αποκλειστικά δικές του δυνατότητες.
Επιθυμία μου ήταν πάντα η ανακάλυψη
της απλής λειτουργίας του υλικού
και η επεξεργασία της δυνατότητας που έχει
αυτό καθεαυτό.

Niki Kanagini (1933–2008) on her work as an artist.

Translated for (and taken from) an exhibition of the artist’s work – “An Ode to Things. Niki Kanagini. Retrospective” – held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) in 2026 and curated by Tina Pandi.

arkhæio
ODE TO THINGS

dubitanda
neon ⋮ hieroglyphics

All that I ⋮ back.

All that I describe
describes me back.

Argyris Chionis (2010)

Ό,τι περιγράφω
με περιγράφει.

In 2010, the poet Argyris Chionis (1943–2011) published a poetry collection that took this transpolium as its title (Athens: Gavriilidis Books).

Translated for (and taken from) an essay titled “Everything Depends on the Quality of the Encounter” that the documentary filmmaker Stavros Psillakis wrote for the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival publication On the Threshold (TiDF25).

The commissioned translation was not used in full.

arkhæio
ON THE THRESHOLD

An all-round driver of ⋮ systems.

an all-round driver of relationships (all kinds)
– both out in nature and within cultures –
that destabilises all biological and social systems

description of a parasite in the mode of Michel Serres

ένας γενικός τελεστής σε κάθε μορφή σχέσης,
τόσο εντός της φύσης όσο και εντός του πολιτισμού,
που αποσταθεροποιεί όλα τα βιολογικά και κοινωνικά συστήματα

Quote translated from the Greek and taken from the back cover of the following book: Michel Serres, To Parásito [The Parasite], translated from the French by Nikos Iliadis and edited by Dionysios Kavvathas (Athens: Smili Publications, 2009).

Taken from the essay titled “Of Monsters and Men” written by Geli Mademli for the Thessaloniki International Film Festival publication We, the Monster.

An earthquake ⋮ himself.

An earthquake so great…
(What’s that?)
…shook the jail hard, to its foundations.
(The boy’s a bible basher!)
Flung open every door.
Broke every inmate’s chains.
And when the warden woke
to find every cell door open,
he drew his sword,
seeking (…desiring…) to kill himself.

Dialogue from the feature film The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea (2019)
directed by Syllas Tzoumerkas

Έγινε σεισμός μεγάλος…
(Τί λες;)
Τόσο μεγάλος που κουνήθηκαν τα θεμέλια της φυλακής.
(Είναι της Θεολογικής το παιδί!)
Κι άνοιξαν οι πόρτες.
Και τα δεσμά των φυλακισμένων λύθηκαν.
Κι όταν ο φύλακας ξύπνησε,
κι όταν είδε τις πόρτες της φυλακής ανοιχτές,
έβγαλε το σπαθί του
και γύρευε να σκοτωθεί.

Screenplay by Syllas Tzoumerkas and Youla Boudali.

This dialogue is a reworking of a biblical text that appears in the New Testament (Acts of the Apostles 16:26–27):

And suddenly there was a great earthquake,
so that the foundations of the prison were shaken:
and immediately all the doors were opened,
and every one’s bands were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep,
and seeing the prison doors open,
he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself,
supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
(King James Bible)

Translated for (and taken from) the subtitles for the feature film The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea by Syllas Tzoumerkas (2019).

arkhæio
THE MIRACLE OF THE SARGASSO SEA

An opportunity⋮ precedes syntax.

…an opportunity for communication
that is both seductive and mysterious,
the tenor of which lies beyond the alphabet
and precedes syntax.

Manto Aravantinou on the Manuscripts of Niki Kanagini (date unknown)

…τη δυνατότητα μιας σαγηνευτικής όσο και μυστηριώδους επικοινωνίας,
που το στίγμα της βρίσκεται πέρα απ’ το αλφάβητο και πριν απ’ το συντακτικό.

The poet Aravantinou (1926–1998) on the painter Kanagini (1933–2008).

For more context, see the dubitandum titled “neon ⋮ hieroglyphics” (yellow box below).

Translated for (and taken from) the retrospective of the artist’s work – “An Ode to Things. Niki Kanagini. Retrospective” – held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) in 2026 and curated by Tina Pandi.

arkhæio
ODE TO THINGS

dubitanda
neon ⋮ hieroglyphics

And ⋮ the land.

and come dawn
all shall return to their toils,
back to the land

Takis Kanellopoulos, from the narration of his 1960 film Macedonian Wedding

και σαν ξημερώσει
όλοι θα γυρίσουν στις δουλειές τους,
πίσω στη γη

Translated for (and taken from) an essay titled “In Transition” written in 2025 by Eleni Androutsopoulou for Blueprints, the Non Catalog of the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TiDF27).

The Takis Kanellopoulos film Macedonian Wedding formed part of a TiDF27 tribute titled “Geography of the Gaze: Greece Off-Plan (1950–2000)”.

arkhæio
BLUEPRINTS

Are you afraid ⋮ comrade.

Are you afraid of life becoming homosexual?
And I don’t mean just sticking it
in and out and out and in again
I’m talking tenderness, comrade

Pedro Lemebel, from his manifesto “Hablo por mi diferencia” (“I Speak for My Difference” – 1986)

¿Tiene miedo que se homosexualice la vida?
Y no hablo de meterlo y sacarlo
Y sacarlo y meterlo solamente
Hablo de ternura compañero

Φοβάσαι μήπως γίνει η ζωή ομοφυλόφιλη;
Και δεν μιλάω για το να το βάζεις και να το βγάζεις
Και μόνο να το βγάζεις και να το βάζεις
Μιλάω για την τρυφερότητα σύντροφε

Taken from the essay titled “Are You Afraid of Life Becoming Homosexual?” written by Nionia Films for the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival publication Citizen Queer.

Greek translation from the Spanish by Nionia Films.