Paul Kiritsis began his interest in mythology and literature in childhood and later sprung into a full-fledged investigation into folklore and poetics. Many of his poems have appeared in periodic anthologies and his books have gotten acclaimed praise. His latest release, Hermetica: Myths, Legends, Poems recently won a literary award and has become his testament for his love of the world of mythology.
We interviewed Paul to find out more about his love for mythology and how it shaped the writing of his new book.
Q: Thank you for this interview, Paul. Can we begin by telling us what your new book is about?
A: Hi there, thanks for having me. Hermetica is first and foremost a literary collection which has as its main focus the mythology of ancient Egypt. What do we mean by literary collection? A body of works, whether they be stories, poems, verse-dramas, or dialogues that are highly intellectual and impart important morals and lessons to its readers. These morals and lessons can be blatantly obvious or more subliminal in nature, or a combination of both. At once, you might find that the morals echoed by many important literary works might only be relevant to their contextual setting or the time in which they were written. The amazing thing about ancient Egyptian literary works is that their themes relate well to any period of human civilization.
Hermetica contains both poetry and prose. The poetry section is further subdivided into six categories: alchemica, astrologica, mythologica, philosophica, musica, and erotica. Notice that the names of these are subjects that the people of antiquity held in the highest honor. The prose section contains seven stories. There is also a prologue, which talks about folklore in general, beginning with a general discussion on myths, legends, and folktales and then goes on to describe some of the better know literary works of ancient Egypt, ending with a small dissertation of what the known literary work of the same name, Hermetica, was all about and its connection with my book.
The main reason for combining both poetry and prose into this volume stems from the fact that ancient folklore began as dramatic and epic poetry. It is well known that the Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey told the stories of the Trojan War in Asia Minor and the subsequent adventures of one of its greatest heroes, Odysseus, whom struggled for ten whole years before reaching his homeland, Ithaca. This large body of myths was a poem. Prose as a story-telling form came much later. My book honors the transcendent ability of folklore to find voice in variant literary forms, both poetry and prose.
Q: When did you find out you had a passion for mythology?
A: Probably around the age of about twenty-five, when I went back to university and decided to get really serious about study and writing. I had also returned from an awe-inspiring trip to Greece and Italy, having visited the ruins of the Minoan palace of Knossos on Crete, the site of the most famous oracle of the ancient world, Delphi, the celebrated Pompeii, Venice, Rome, and Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance, and many, many others!
