At the root of fear and whisper
on a collection of poems by P. V. Paschos
Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article offers a critical study of the poetry collection *Le ciel intérieur* (1979) by P.V. Paschos, a contemporary Greek poet. The approach is that of a literary and theological analysis situating the work within the panorama of Neo-Hellenic Christian poetry. The author argues that Greek Christian poetry has generally failed due to its lack of rootedness in the Byzantine liturgical tradition, reducing itself to ideological rhetoric. Paschos represents a notable exception: his poetry articulates Orthodox mystical experience and rigorous formal demands, following a progression in three stages — from fear and death to reconciliation, and then to Transfiguration. The article makes a twofold contribution: it identifies the conditions for an authentic sacred poetry in an Orthodox context and shows how a mystical sensibility inherited from Symeon the New Theologian can be embodied in a resolutely contemporary poetic language.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
The rest of this article is reserved for subscribers of the Contacts review.
Subscribe to read more
Digital subscription · Immediate access to the Contacts library