Charalampos Tzanakis: «All Out in the Open» (English)

 

It's amazing how far internet coincidences can take you. On a July afternoon in 2023, I was bored at work, killing time by looking at Instagram for photos of one of my enduring muses, actress Tina Aumont.

I liked a photo of Aumont posted on a profile with a Greek-sounding name. Just minutes, maybe seconds, later, I received a message from the owner of that account. It was Charalampos Tzanakis. Greek indeed.

I rushed to explore his profile and knew immediately that I had just met a kindred spirit. His world is akin to my world. Charalampos overwhelmed me with a wave of messages containing questions I couldn't answer. But he is forgiven. Geniuses can be forgiven for these excesses.

Genius? Yes, of course; from the first moment I checked his Instagram profile I recognized an extraordinary talent. If we didn't live in an age where ugliness reigns, Charalampos would be the Jean Cocteau of the 21st century.

Now, one year later, I have already purchased a copy of All Out in the Open, Charalampos first book, in digital format.

I had already known Tzanakis' world for a year, so what I have gained from reading All Out in the Open is a global, almost ordered, vision of that world. Of course, it is a book to be felt rather than understood. You either "get it" or you don't, but don't try to analyze it from a rational point of view. The verses of this Greek poet talk directly to your heart, to your spirit, to your star.

To begin with, this verse impresses me, excites me and "speaks" to me: "I don't see you as a towering figure anymore/ So I am free." (p. 30). Clearly, it is about the liberation of the lover from the object of an impossible infatuation. Rebirth, almost.

And I keep repeating to myself one of the verses from this book: “My writings will be unearthed. I am rewriting my own story.” (Runaway, p. 39). My writings will be unearthed. I too hope that, one day, my writings and my drawings will be unearthed. And, yes, like all good artists do, Charalampos Tzanakis rewrites his own story over and over again… his own legend.

Star Queen of the Pavement (p. 47) sounds like the title of a pop star’s album, or the title of a movie starring that same pop star.

On page 50, Charalampos says that music is the force of his life and explains (in one of the most «narrative» poems in the book) one of his forms of inspiration:

«Not only I leave cassettes and CDs of my favourite songs in random spots/ for strangers to find/ but I record my self on cassette tapes doing/ radio show called/ “Thorn on the Rose” – with spoken word, commercials and music/ I like to translate song lyrics from English to Greek/ glue them on the wall for inspiration/ and make compilations of my favourite hit songs for my overseas friends.»

Am I honored to be one of those overseas friends?

The imagery of this collection is made of: dreams, roses, flashing lights, walks, visions, music, female goddess-like faces, stars, all of it in «cursed poet style» (p. 62).

The female figure on the book cover seems familiar to me, she is a kind of female Pierrot, with a ruff around her neck, ponytails on her head, who moves like a dancer. For me it’s like the figure in the Watteau painting that adorns the cover of my (so far) only novel: Cirilo. But Charalampos’ androgynous character is more dynamic than mine.

The conclusion I come to is that All Out in the Open is a kind of grimoire, almost like a manual to exorcise ourselves of the evils that dwell within us («I undid the bad done onto me») and that prevent us from reaching our full artistic potential.

That is to say: «Forge your own path Forge your own path». (I’m trying…)

In the poem on page 62, Charalampos gives the key to his creativity: «You realise by now/ I realise by now/ that I fell in love with a ghost/ As the realisation hit/ I can finally draw and write».

Once you stop loving the ghost, you won’t see him as a «towering figure» anymore and that is when, as we read on page 187, «Your star will shine against all odds».

Well, Charalampos Tzanakis’ star is already shining very, very bright.