Readers Place

Panos Karnezis interview/review

The Observer : March 20, 2005

Escape: TALES FROM MY TRAVELS: PANOS KARNEZIS: Memories of a lost world: The author loves to return to his childhood haunts on the quieter Cyclades islands
Interview by Carl Wilkinson

1. Do you go back to Greece often?

I was born on the west coast of the Peloponnese, but grew up in Athens. I’ve lived in Britain for the past 13 years, though, and go back to Greece infrequently. For years I didn’t go often because I had a busy full-time job as an engineer and tended to take my holidays in Spain or the Canary Islands. Now that I write full time, I’ve started going again, staying longer and taking my work with me. My last visit was to Kythira, off the Peloponnese coast, which was a British protectorate in the 19th century. It’s an interesting island where you can go walking – and there are waterfalls. It’s very different to the typical, dry Greek islands that tend to be package-holiday destinations.

1. What is your favourite part of Greece?

The islands. When I was younger I used to holiday with friends on the Greek islands, which were a sexy place for young people. We’d go out to the islands rather than places closer on the coast. I’ve been to Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, and Syros and Sifnos in the Cyclades. I tend to go to the quieter places now. I go walking in the mountains and take hiking maps. We didn’t have those 10 years ago, so there must be a growing market. The Greek countryside is not really owned by anyone so you can walk more or less anywhere you like. It’s virgin territory. I suspect it will not be like that for much longer.

1. Do Greeks tend to travel much?

I have Greek friends who are not interested in coming to England or anywhere else. The majority of Greeks see holidays as a rest time, not as a time to discover different cultures. Greek Easter is a big thing and people take time off then. Greek society is becoming much more secular, but Easter is the time when most Greeks leave Athens to return to villages to stay with relatives. I think people are still rooted in their village culture.

1. Is your writing inspired by Greece?

Very much so – by the landscape more than anything else. It doesn’t have to be the pastoral landscape of the countryside. It can be walking around Athens or taking the train south to Piraeus and going past these big apartment blocks which are not very beautiful. All these things provide my inspiration. I still keep in mind the image of Greece that I grew up with, and the image of Greece you see on TV. I try to play with that and do it in a humorous way. The stereotype is of village people who lead a happy and fulfilling life. It’s not like that now. I put these ideas into my first book which was a collection of short stories.

1. Do you write in Greece?

I went back for five weeks but I find it difficult to write away from home. I need my base. I appreciated my country far more living away from Greece. There is something to be said for being an out sider and looking back in. You can be more critical. That geographical distance gives you a sentimental distance and you can be more objective. I don’t stay in Greece for long. I’d rather observe, talk and read then come home, close the shutters and work. You can’t really do that in a place like Greece.