Harsh Out of Tenderness: The Greek Poet and Urban Folklorist Elias Petropoulos

Elias Petropoulos was the most controversial Greek writer of the twentieth century. Imprisoned three times during the Junta (1967-1974) and persecuted by Greek judges as late as the 1980s, this poet and "urban folklorist" produced a vast and groundbreaking oeuvre that continues to provoke extreme reactions from readers.

Wielding his precise and provocative style on subject matter ranging from prison life, rebetika music, gay slang, traditional food and public hygiene, to the sociology of bro...