Alexis Panselinos needs no introduction. He is one of the most important living Greek writers who continues to dream with words, writing new books through his creative, productive unconscious. His latest novel, Oil on Canvas, has just been published by Metaichmio. A Platonic love story in the years before the establishment of the dictatorship in Greece, or rather the story of the painting and how it was born in the soul and mind of the creator.

– The idea came from many memories of that time, personal and collective experiences of my friends of that time. The summer before 1967 was very important for all of us. In retrospect, of course, we saw that a life that we imagined would develop differently was lost – we were then twenty-something. To be honest, the story is not so much about the era and the dictatorship. It’s a love story, and I can say that it’s even more of a painting story. Both the title and the end of the book allude to this. Oil on canvas – an explanatory bracket in the exhibition catalog, telling how the picture was created. That is why in the summer of 66 it has a larger area than subsequent chapters. The following was written to develop a character who bears the trauma of the end of innocence on his own responsibility, which marks him very strongly.

– In many ways, these are memories that a person keeps. And the memories of that early youth are strong, at least as a feeling. No matter how old we are, we remain children, we just grow old. Inside we remain the same people, plus our wounds, our wrinkles. Hence the art of storytelling, the play of characters, the voices of heroes. And the landscape is what we all have from the Greek islands, where we lived and rested.

– Perhaps the fact that what I write will be read by the object of my love, I addressed it mentally. Love is multifaceted and exists everywhere. When you are in love with a person, you also look at other people with love.

“No matter how much we grow up, we remain children, we just get older. Inside, we remain the same people, plus our wounds, our wrinkles.

“I fell in love with women by the tone of their voice. But usually it’s the person I fall in love with. The face is the result of existence and the body. As for a woman, the face is what gives me her wholeness. I always fall in love with the head, my gaze is directed to the eyes, smile, nose, hair, everywhere.

– The last part of your book is devoted to the junta. Although we, too, could have survived the French May of Liberation, the dictatorship interrupted this broadcast.

– It’s right. Our country began with trauma, like children who were not loved by their parents. Greece arose like this, out of the collapse of the Revolution, it was made by the great powers. We are a strange breed, we failed to do it on our own, and we became a state because others wanted it. We went bankrupt about 7 times, our policy has always depended on the policy of the great powers, and this has made a lot of distortions in the political history of the country. The crises we have gone through may have stopped the progress of society and the economy, but I don’t think they have stopped the progress of art. Art continued to flourish despite the crises, and perhaps because of the crises.

“I’m at the age where I can’t stop thinking about him, but the good thing is that as long as a person lives, he believes that he will live forever. The thought of love begins very early, as does the thought of death. I thought about them all my life. But I’m already thinking about the next book I’ll write. I may not be able to complete it, but I live with the thought that I can.

There are many things I would not have done differently. My best bet was that I realized early on that I was a writer, and that determined everything. The choice of my friends, my partners and the climate in which I live. In all my books I deal with some kind of art, art is my medium. I don’t care much about ideas.

“None of us succeed as much as we want to. I share the position of Spyros, because I did not do what I imagined, I did what I could. Art is an elusive ideal. The hope that everyone has is to become themselves.

“Political correctness is a purely hypocritical situation, you bastards”

– No, I was not afraid, because I knew such cases with girls and heard their conversations. The cool thing is that I had confirmation from many of my friends, my current age, who told me that at this age they were in love with much older boys. This story told something to everyone, everyone has something to remember. The maturity of the heroine is more physical than mental, she herself remains a child.

– Today is the age of political correctness, which is purely hypocritical, we just prefer to turn a blind eye to reality. Regarding erotica in particular, too much. Children are romantic from the moment they are born, from the womb. Madly in love with the 1st grade, in the 2nd grade he cheated on a girl, whom he kept until the 6th grade. Erotica is one thing, but sexuality is quite another. Political correctness is a visor, and society is forced to wear it because morally it has sunk too low. There is a lot of depravity in the minds of people, and therefore they need political correctness to cover up the depravity of their thinking.

– Love has played a dominant role in my life, which determines a lot. It determines the formation of reality, spirituality, our attitude to life, the intensity and quality of our feelings. Especially art is born out of love. There is no art without love from within as motivation, inspiration, purpose. Love is the most basic thing for creation, as it is for the creation of life.