Leli Bey was born in Athens and studied dentistry in the Aristotle University of Thessalonica. At the same time, she took cinematography lessons in the Central Theatre of North Greece.
Leli Bey has published six collections of poems:
- 1980, BEYOND THE STIGA, Egnatia Publications
- 1988, LIFETIME, Egnatia Publications
- 1991, THE MONODISTS, Ikaros Publications
- 1996, THE PLANETARY ULYSSES, Ikaros Publications
- 2003, IT’S HIGH TIME, Ikaros Publications
- 2009, THE STATION, Ikaros Publications
Some of these collections were translated from Greek into French and English. In 2008, the French publications, “L’ HARMATTAN”, published the collection “ULYSSE PLANETAIRE ET AUTRES POEMES”, that included “THE PLANETARY ULYSSES”, as well as a selection of poems from the collections “THE MONODISTS” and “IT’S HIGH TIME”. Since November 2010, she writes for the Greek newspaper “ELEFTHEROTYPIA”. In the winter of 2011, “THE STATION” was adapted as a theatre play, at the Greek theatre “SIN-KATI”. Articles, essays and reviews of her work have been published in both Greek and International magazines. In November 2009, “LA STATION” was presented in Paris at Librairie Desmos. On December 14th of 2013, “LA STASION” was played in PARIS; it was a theatrical adaptation of the book “LA STASION” which was published by “L’ HARMATTAN” in France.
The boat has been setting sails
Thousands of years now
Imaginary chimneys pluming smoke
The health of the sun
will translate the light
Leli Bey
© Translation by Mrs Elena Vlastaris
Landscape
I
In the short years by the salt mines
There my boat was laying
white as salt
The horizon has depth
and a hand etches time again
Do keep coming, and I leave with you
to the salt mines
there where my thought was growing up
Cups of water we drank
for the years of absence
II
He returns in the hidden spot
Corrects the time in the cypress trees
and with his stare fixed on the hills
testing reality
A wind tugged on
the events slowly
and brought them here
It is an anniversary
And in his manor
smiles the incorruptible
Leli Bey
© Translation by Mrs Elena Vlastaris
For other contributions by Leli Bey, please follow the link below:
Published with the permission of Leli Bey