24 hours with Stephanos Stephanides
The poet politician
Beating the campaign trail is a huge learning curve for one of Cyprus’ academics
Why would the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cyprus want to become involved in politics? The answer, according to Dr Stephanos Stephanides, poet, academic and now activist is simple: “I don’t see myself as a politician but we are at a crucial moment in our history, it is a life or death opportunity”. What he is referring to is the opportunity for an integrated island. A solution. He believes the United Democrats, the party for which he is standing for election in the Famagusta ward, is the only party that is truly committed to re-unification of the island.
Usually this moderate, mild mannered man would be coming to the end of his academic year, spending his days overseeing administration of Masters and PhD theses, preparing the ground for the year ahead. He has not taken the decision lightly to campaign and place himself in the spotlight.
“Intellectuals should have a voice in public discourse,” he argues. Is he hopeful? “I wouldn’t be an activist if I was totally pessimistic”.
An early riser, he likes to be up at dawn, when the sun is rising and world is quiet. It’s a time to reflect and to write and to put his thoughts in order. He is by his own omission untidy and easily distracted. Days now are spent on the campaign trail, “a huge learning experience” for someone used to delivering papers at international conferences and dealing with debate at the highest scholarly levels.
Getting closer to the people of the island, listening to their voice has been one of the pleasures of his new role. Recently he was in the villages around Paralimni, talking to people in hospital, markets, coffee shops and, as he recalls, a barber shop. The barber spontaneously recited Chatista, the traditional oral poetry that in rhyme discusses social issues. For a poet and scholar this opportunity to get to the grass roots of the culture he loves is a rare pivilege. Campaigning has become a voyage of discovery. Does he meet with any hostility? “No,” he laughs.” if you go in with a smiling face people are always welcoming.” Then he remembers one of the few times when he was not made welcome. “They mistook me for a Green party candidate,” he laughs.
Will he get votes? “I don’t know, people are conformist, they have traditional allegiances, if they are going to change I think they will do it quietly”. His father, who left the island for the UK in the 1950s, was an active member of AKEL. He says people challenge him, ask him “what would your father say?” “My father,” he replies “would have been open-minded enough to listen.”
Recently, his day was spent in the Karpasia with the few remaining Greek Cypriots who live there. It was an emotional experience for him for he remembers two years ago on Easter Saturday being in the same area waiting for the result of the referendum. He remembers the unbelievable disappointment of both the Greek and the Turkish Cypriots in that area when AKEL affected the final outcome. He believes that Cyprus with its unique position on the edge of Europe should lead the way in being able to assimilate identity, that the poet politician can bring a fresh voice to a stale situation.
Afternoons now will often be spent at the party HQ writing and giving interviews. His work as a poet, the part of his life which in many ways he values most, is on the back burner at present, but he knows that this time spent listening to the voices of the island will in time affect his writing.
When the checkpoints opened he says. “it inspired me to write more… to reflect on the strange effects of memory as if returning in a dream”. One of his greatest pleasures was when an anonymous person translated his poems into Turkish. Reaching out through the arts is paramount to Stephanos, “cultural exchange more than politics” is his motivation.
He is realistic enough to know that he probably won’t be elected. But he feels that inaction is also action and that now is the time show your commitment, to show you care about this island’s future. He’s finding his new role tiring – at the end of the day he`ll often fall asleep on the sofain front of a DVD. No time for the Latin dancing he loves, or cooking Indian food, another passion from his seven years spent in Guyana. He still finds time to practise yoga – a way of finding inner calm. For someone so rational I am surprised to discover that he reads people’s fortunes in Tarot cards. So what of the fortune for the future of the island? “I hope,” he answers. “that through sharing culture we will find renewal”.
