Vasilios Theodorakis – An Online Author

Back in May of 1989, I had no money, no qualifications and no real job. I found myself in a share house with the Brisbane youth sector’s very own Casanova, as well as, a chain smoking Japanese exchange student who hadn’t grasped the notion of emptying an ashtray. Each time he filled a tray, he’d go down to the shops and buy a new one. For some reason, he preferred to do that rather than empty the contents into a bin. Invariably, no one could get into his room because of the piles of cigarette butts and ash, strategically positioned on the carpeted floor. What made this truly disgusting is that I’ve always been a non-smoker.

Most of that winter was spent in a tiny uninsulated room, trying to complete my degree’s third year social work subjects. I had to turn a drawer upside down and balance it on boxes on either side of my legs – just to get a level surface to write on. I can’t remember how much material I wrote in this setting, but it was horribly uncomfortable and incredibly demoralising. I was supposed to become a Physicist, for goodness sake, and here I was churning out Marxist dribble on the bottom of a drawer in Brisbane’s dampest suburb – Graceville.

During my darkest hours in 1989, I often thought about my grandparents and how they had migrated to Australia in order to ensure their descendants had a better standard of living. My parent’s actions inevitably put an end to that dream leaving me to fend for myself. Ill health and a lack of resources subsequently left me homeless. The fact that Graceville’s resident Casanova was kind enough to let me use his spare room, before I froze to death in my antiquated Subaru Sherpa, was my only break.

As someone who values writing above all else, it is interesting to note, that each time I found myself homeless in the late 1980s / early 1990s, the main thing that bothered me was having no desk. My lack of food and the absence of a bed seemed to come a distant second. When I finally bought a new desk, I was so used to “not having” possessions that I found it difficult to give myself permission “to have” the desk – even though it was desperately needed.

Now that its 2009, and life has greatly improved, it’s time to make way for a more functional writing environment, especially if I want to complete that piece of speculative fiction, that has clung to me like a 400 pound gorilla. :) Once the room is set up, I’ll post a few pictures of my custom built writing environment. Regarding my writing from 1989 – thank goodness for wide drawers and cardboard boxes! ;)

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – May 2009

The poem for this week is: A Lie???

This piece of verse belongs to the “Growing Up” anthology and was written in April 1988 – the exact date in April was not recorded. As with many of my pieces from that era, it too is about the emotional turmoil associated with identifying a partner or life long companion. If I had just focused on finding someone that wanted to go out on a date first instead of marriage, I may have had better success! :)

The highlighted author for this week is another children’s writer – Beatrix Potter

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – May 2009

This week’s post: Uniqueness is a short commentary based on a conversation I had with a friend about how angry I have become in loosing loved ones – never to see them again after they die.

At a head level I’ve always found that religion and theology are helpful in dealing with loss, but at an emotional level it makes no difference to the ongoing grief because I know that even if I do encounter them in an afterlife, they will not be the same being I knew on earth.

I also pointed out to my friend, that I often look for my lost friends in other humans / creatures only to discover and rediscover that nothing more than aspects and traits of my friends’ personas are ever present in others – one never, ever, sees the whole again.

Once dead, their uniqueness is always lost to the world, irrespective of what one might believe happens in an afterlife.

This week’s highlighted author is: Thomas Keneally

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – April 2009

The poem for this week is: Queensland Expo / Expo Queensland

This piece of verse belongs to the “Growing Up” anthology and was written in April 1988. It’s a minimalist piece that captured simple feelings I was experiencing when visiting Brisbane’s Expo 88.

The highlighted author for this week is another scientist – Steven Hawking , specifically his book “A Brief History Of Time“.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – April 2009

The poem for this week is: A Cup Of Tea Or A Beer?

This is another recent poem and falls into the ungrouped category. The piece is a tribute to Betty Cutlack, one of the few people in our neighbourhood that made us feel genuinely welcome when we bought our place. Betty’s passing deeply affected the feel of the street – it suddenly got a lot more impersonal – a sign of our non-communal times I suppose. Apparently, she lived in her house (which her husband built) for over 50 years. Her husband, who passed away back in 2004, also has a poem dedicated to him i.e. “A Neighbour Weeding”

Unfortunately I have no highlighted author for this week.

Readers might have noticed however, that I’ve fixed up the navigation and layout of the blog’s side bar. With a bit of luck, I’m hoping to improve more of the structure of the site in the near future. I’ll keep you abreast of any such developments.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – April 2009

Brisbane today looks like any other western city – tall skyscrapers, few public spaces and no character. This wasn’t always the case, back in the mid 1980s it was still an interesting town with many of its older buildings intact. It also had some very quirky personalties wandering its streets and train stations but these too have long ago been replaced by a population that now takes itself far too seriously.

This week’s poem: The Jolly Bunch – was written back in 1987 as a compilation of various experiences I had while catching late night trains at Dutton Park station. In all instances, I was on may way home from university – a place which I hated from the start because of its impersonal nature. I never seemed to tire of observing people’s behaviour however and was often more interested in the personalities on campus as well as the train passengers to and from home. What I was formally studying took a distant second place to my people studies. :) The poem’s structure also pays homage to the essay read out loud in English class by John Cusack’s character in the Rob Reiner film “The Sure Thing”. The piece is very much tongue and cheek and was never intended to be taken seriously.

This week’s highlighted author is: Mem Fox.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – March 2009

The poem for this week is: He Made Her Cry…

This piece is another recent poem and falls into the ungrouped category. Its central theme covers how insensitive many men are in regards to their wives’s feelings. It’s based on an amalgam of marriages I’ve observed over the years and includes some of my own marriage’s experiences.

This week’s highlighted author is: Arthur Conan Doyle.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – March 2009

The poem for this week is: Imaginary? Playmates.

This piece belongs to the “Growing Up” anthology and was written in February 1989 – the exact date of writing is unknown. The poem is a juxtaposition on last week’s verse which highlighted how I no longer enjoyed returning to the memories of my childhood. I think enough time has past for me to accept that my childhood wasn’t all “it was cracked up to be”.

In regards to this week’s poem – it explores how our imaginary playmates, hang around even when we choose to ignore them and/or no longer need them. As in the lyrics to “Puff The Magic Dragon“, I think these friends are probably an extension of our human psyche. Who knows, they may even have their own self awareness.

And finally, I’m starting to regret that I didn’t publicly release these poems much sooner – some pieces may have been of use to others during the course of the last 20 years. I suppose releasing them now, ensures its still better late than never, plus, I tend to forget that I didn’t have the luxuary of the World Wide Web back in 1989 (to digitally publish this material). ;)

This week’s highlighted author is: Mark Twain.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – March 2009

The poem for this week is: Everything Is OK.

This piece is a recent ungrouped poem and captures a sense of well being that occurred while stumbling around outside our house. Such moments of grace tend to be few and far in between – especially for individuals like me. One can only hope that their frequency increases, but then again, without life’s little disappointments and emotional tortures, one’s fountain of verse does have a tendancy to dry up. ;)

This week’s highlighted author is: Ray Bradbury.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – March 2009

The poem for this week is: The Old Child

This piece of verse also belongs to the “Growing Up” anthology and was written in June 1988. It was my attempt to document what had happened to a work mate’s friend in the welfare sector. As a warning to readers, its quite a depressing piece, exploring the suicide of an individual who refused to seek clinical treatment for their mental illness.

I had thought this poem had been lost during one of the many “house moves” in my 20’s. Hopefully other missing pieces will now surface from the depths of my files.

Been a difficult seven days, so there’s no highlighted author for this week.

Kind regards – Vasilios Theodorakis – February 2009