Issue 1 introduces the editorial team. We are poets Angela Costi, George Mouratidis and Dimitris Troaditis; novelists Effie Carr, Hariklia Heristanidis and Dmetri Kakmi.

We kick off with an incisive interview with award-winning novelist Michael Mohammed Ahmad, author of The Lebs and The Other Half of You.

The poetry section begins with a selection of poems by the poetry editors, George Mouratidis, Angela Costi and Dimitris Troaditis.

Guest poets, Hidayet Ceylan, Lucy Van and Anna Couani, merge their idiosyncratic voices as they lay down their respective offerings at Kalliope’s shrine of poesy. The legendary Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke (1939-2020) is our featured poet. Her poems in Greek and English are accompanied with a powerful tribute by Troaditis.

In fiction, Hariklia Heristanidis enthralls with a vivid excerpt from her historical novel in progress. Dmetri Kakmi extols the virtues of the great vocalist Diamanda Galas and Effie Carr reviews Roots, the timely anthology from SBS’s Emerging Writers Competition.

Just when you thought it was safe to give your brain a rest there’s David Roberts’ eloquent review of the award-winning Heidi by anarcho-punk priest π.ο, while Hoa Pham takes us into the unsettled interior with an excerpt from a forthcoming memoir.

We hereby launch Kalliope X into the eddies and currents of literature’s wine-dark sea. We hope you enjoy the journey and that you return for issue two in May 2022.

Kalliope X
17 November 2021