"The nation asks us for the riches of our intellect, of the individual, clothed as a nation" (letter of Dionysios Solomos to Georgios Tertsetis, 1833)
In the climate of ardent regeneration that fuels the new-born country of Greece in the middle of the 19th century, profound political, economic and social changes are taking place. New infrastructures, expansion of borders, urbanization and modernization are now key aspirations. The zeitgeist is expressed by Yannis Psycharis in his book 'My Journey' (1888) as: "a nation, in order to become a nation, needs two things: to expand its borders and to have its own literature".
And while politicians like Trikoupis and Venizelos lay the foundations for a new, Europeanized country, the intellectual elite embrace the European trends of Symbolism and Parnassianism in poetry, Realism in prose, as well as the corresponding movements in the visual arts.
A new literary movement emerges and Kostis Palamas (1859-1943) is its main representative. Born a few years after the death of Solomos, Kostis Palamas is a restless spirit. With a diverse education and readings, he matures literaly in an era of intense political and social reforms. Raised in the tradition of the Eptanesian School of Poetry, he follows with interest the dominant European literary movements, such as Parnassianism and Symbolism. He is also fascinated by the love of science prevailing at the end of the 19th century, which makes his poetry more intellectual.
From 1878, he and his two friends and fellow students, Nikos Kampas and Georgios Drosinis, begin writing in political-satirical newspapers. The three friends have become aware of the decline of Athenian romanticism in literarure. With their work, they introduce a new poetic language, which disrupts the older generation poets, which refer to them contemptuously as "the kiddies" or poets of the "New School".
The year 1880 is the launch of the New School of Poetry as two poetry collections are published that convey exactly the spirit of change: Nikos Kampas's 'Verses' and Drosini's 'Spider's Webs'. Kostis Palamas later defines as the first stations in the poetic evolution of the new generation the collection of Papadiamantopoulos 'Trygones and Echidnai' (1878), the 'Verses' of Kamba and the 'Idylls' of Drosini: "The Trygones and Echidnai seem to say goodbye to something that is fading; the Verses of Kamba as if they were first greetings of the dawn. G. Drosini's Idylls seem to confirm it".
In 1886, Palamas publishes his first poetry collection under the title 'The songs of my country'.In 1895, the state commissioned him to compose the Olympic Anthem. Poets and prose writers gather around him with a burning desire for a renewal of Greek letters. These reformers, led by Palamas, supported the "demotiki" language, a simplified version of modern Greek and join their forces with Yiannis Psycharis, who in 1888 writes the prose poem 'My Journey', a milestone work in the effort to modernize Greek language. Building on the concepts of "freedom and language" of the Eptanesian School and continuing to study folk songs and oral traditions, these intellectuals are pitted against the supporters of the old regime.
This is the most important change brought about by the poets of the New Athenian School - the now complete establishment of the use of "demotiki" in poetry. However, a more conceptual renewal of the poetic discourse takes place - without the pomp and rhetorical exagerations of romanticism, they highlight more mundane and everyday issues. They are particularly concerned with the aesthetic form of the verse and prefer short stanzaic forms whose brevity allows for better processing. The trend of French Parnassism also plays an important role.
With plenty of folkloric elements in his poetry, Drosinis is influenced by the French Parnassians. His poems are noted for their elegance in form and many have an idyllic content. The interest in folklore and the study of medieval Greek history and popular literature blossomed at this time and also colored the subject matter of their works. Other representatives of the School are Georgios Stratigis, Ioannis Polemis, Georgios Souris and Aristomenis Proveleggios.
Towards the end of the century, the influence of symbolism fades, while young poets such as Konstantinos Hatzopoulos and Lambros Porphyras emerge.
Kostis Palamas dies during WWII, in 1943. At his funeral, the poet Aggelos Sikelianos, defying the German Occupation forces, declares loudly:
"Sound the trumpets! Greece rests in this coffin!".
