The project is part of an ongoing research on the political reception of American literature in Greece during the long 1960s. I intend to explore how American literature was received by writers connected to the Left during that period. Within the framework of the Cultural Cold War and the deeply divided literary field of post-civil war Greece, the reception of American literature by writers of the Left seems a paradox. Nevertheless, research in periodicals of the Left shows that they closely followed American literature.

The purpose of this research project is threefold: First, it will examine the reception of American literature in periodicals of the Left, focusing on the writers chosen and how these choices interact with the periodicals aesthetic and ideological profile. Translation choices are interesting, since translators employ different strategies to work around the provocative language of Beat poetry, at a period when an obscenity trial could be provoked. The comparison between periodicals with different political position regarding choices of American writers will show how the American ‘canon’ was shaped in Greece, since the reception of American literature was very limited before WWII, except for E. A. Poe. 

Second, it will present and assess how Vassilikos’ dialogue with contemporary American writers during the 1960s enabled him to experiment in terms of themes and poetics in ways that he had not before. Ideologically, American literary tradition was appropriated to question and subvert the cultural and political hegemony of the USA. The reception of the Beats by Vassilikos will be compared to that of the avant garde writers around Pali magazine. 

The third aim is to examine the role of Vassilikos as a cultural mediator for American culture, through his articles and the impact of his texts. Chakkas and Chatzidaki are the most indicative case studies. Nevertheless, many younger poets and writers of the 70s generation have followed Vassilikos in a political reading of American literature.