Unrepentant smokers

Veiled in smoke, yellowed fingers, the scene shrouded in mist. All types of artificial  respirators can be found ready-made in packs, in tobacco pouches, and in pipes!

The smoke which goes inside us leaves the marks of nicotine and the smell of burning. That which quells the fire, brings it close, very close to the face, and satisfies the mouth. In an odd and unaccountable way it also satisfies the taste buds and the sense of smell - even though it will eventually numb them.

Smoking is perhaps the first sin in the journey towards adulthood. The first caress which contains the promise of death; the pleasure of forbidden fruit; or political unorthodoxy in a world which develops people into machines - without passion, thoughts, desires, deviant behaviours or peculiarities. It is one bright signal to the world, a lighthouse which can warn of danger or show a harbour...

The unrepentant smoker knows that the ban on smoking doesn’t target cigarettes and health: the goal is the passion and obsession. The goal is the canker in a “bright and healthy” system, which may kill you, but doesn’t allow you to die.

“I know they never aim at the legs. The mind is the goal. Watch out, eh?” Katerina Gogou*, film** Parangelia *** 1980

*Katerina Gogou was born in Athens on 1 June 1940. She started her career as an actor from a young age and played secondary roles in a host of films during the golden age of Greek cinema. Later she turned to poetry. Her poetry is characterized by her unconventional, coherent character, her anarchic ideas and the black colour which they seem to emit. She took part in the film “The Parangelia” (1980). She committed suicide with a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol on 3 October 1993. She left a daughter, Mirto.

The film “Parangelia” [“Request”] is based on the true story of Nikos Koemtzi. In February 1973 the recently-released from jail (convicted for robbery), Nikos Koemtzi, along with his brother Demosthenes were enjoying themselves at the nightclub “Neraida”. Demosthenes requested the Vamvakaris’ song, “Vergoules” to be played specifically for him, as is the custom. Suddenly another customer broke in onto Demosthenes solo dance and three plain-clothes policemen got involved in the brawl which followed – Koemtzi thought they had killed his brother - and knifed all three of them. He was duly sentenced to death. In 1977 his death sentence was changed to life in prison. He was released in 1996 after 23 years in jail where he was treated very badly, partly due to his political views; his criminal record; and the fact that the dead were all policemen. Today he hawks his autobiography round the streets of Athens.

There was a strong Greek tradition of respect for the parangelia. When a man requested a special song to dance to, the rest of the customers would automatically leave the dance floor as long the dance lasted. The abuse of the parangelia  - when someone else would dance at the same time as your parangelia - was too  great  an insult to ignore and would usually end up in a massive fight, a kind of very personal vendetta, usually involving knives. Today, in essence, this has disappeared from places of entertainment.