Cypriot literature covers literature fromCyprus found mainly inGreek,Turkish, English and/or other languages, including French. The modernCypriot Greek dialect belongs to theSoutheastern group of Modern Greek dialects.
Literary production from antiquity includes theCypria, anepic poem, probably composed in the late 7th century BC and attributed toStasinus.[1] The CypriotZeno of Citium was the founder of theStoic School of Philosophy, followed by his friend and disciplePersaeus.
Cyprus also figures in early Christian literature such as theActs of the Apostles according to which the ApostlesBarnabas andPaul preached on the island. Byzantine/medieval Cypriot writers includeLeontios of Neapolis,Altheides andPatriarch Gregory II of Constantinople. ByzantineEpic poetry, notably the "acritic songs", flourished during theMiddle Ages.
The legislation of theKingdom of Cyprus in theMiddle Ages, known as theAssizes of Jerusalem, was written in the local dialect of the time, as well as in French. The Assizes were translated into Italian by 1531 and remain the largest collection of surviving medieval laws.
As far ashistoriography is concerned, the most important medieval works are the chronicles ofLeontios Makhairas andGeorgios Boustronios, covering the period under Frankish rule (1191–1489), written in the local dialect with manyFrench influences.
TheCypriot Canzoniere is a great collection of sonnets in the manner ofFrancesco Petrarca and ofPoèmes d'amour written in medieval Greek Cypriot that dates to the 16th century, whenCyprus was a possession of theRepublic of Venice. Some of them are actual translations of poems written byPetrarch,Bembo,Ariosto andSannazzaro.[2] The majority of the playOthello byWilliam Shakespeare is set on Venetian Cyprus.
A comprehensive study on modern literary figures from Cyprus writing in Greek, Turkish and English can be found in Bahriye Kemal's bookWriting Cyprus: Postcolonial and Partitioned Literatures of Place and Space (Routledge, 2020).
Modern literary figures from Cyprus writing in Greek include the poet and writer Kostas Montis, poetKyriakos Charalambides, novelistPanos Ioannides, poet Michalis Pasiardis, poet/translatorStephanos Stephanides, writerNicos Nicolaides, horror writer Fivos Kyprianou, Stylianos Atteshlis, Loukis Akritas[3] and Demetris Th. Gotsis.Dimitris Lipertis,Vasilis Michaelides and Pavlos Liasides are folk poets who wrote poems mainly in theCypriot-Greek dialect.[4][5] The local dialect has been traditionally used for folk songs and poetry, includingτσιαττιστά (battle poetry, a form ofPlaying the dozens) and the tradition ofποιητάρηες (bards).
Modern literary figures from Cyprus writing in Turkish include poetsOsman Türkay,Özker Yaşın,Neşe Yaşın,Neriman Cahit andMehmet Yaşın. Neşe Yaşın is a well knownCypriot Turkishpoet andauthor, who mainly writes in Turkish although a considerable number of her works of prose have been translated into Greek and English. In 2002 her novelSecret History of Sad Girls was banned in theTRNC and Turkey and she received multiple threats from Turkish nationalists.[6][7]Sevgül Uludağ is an investigative reporter[8] who besides being instrumental in uncovering information on thousands of missing Cypriots[9] she has also authored a number of books.[10]Urkiye Mine Balman has written in a wide variety genres, but her works are mostly romantic poems describing sometimes a lonesome village girl or country life and long-distance romances. Balman has published her works in Yesilada, Türk Dili, and Türk'e Dogru literary magazines inTurkey.[11]
Cyprus-based writers in other languages includes the Armenian Cypriot poetNora Nadjarian. There is also an increasingly strong presence of both temporary and permanent emigre Cypriot writers in world literature, as well as writings by second and third -generation Cypriot writers born or raised abroad, often writing in English. This includes writers such as Andreas Koumi, Miranda Hoplaros,Stephen Laughton,Christy Lefteri, Eve Makis,Michael Paraskos,Stel Pavlou andStephanos Stephanides.[12]Paul Stenning, author andArchbishop Makarios III chronicler, lives in Paphos.
Cyprus has also been a place of inspiration and literary production for non-native authors during the twentieth century.
Lawrence Durrell lived in Cyprus from 1952 until 26 August 1956 and wrote the bookBitter Lemons concerning his time there, which earned him the secondDuff Cooper Prize in 1957.
Nobel laureateGiorgos Seferis, fromGreece was heavily influenced by Cyprus. He wrote one of his most famous works (Log Book III – initially entitledCyprus, where it was ordained for me…) while working for the Greek diplomatic mission on the island. British novelistPaul Stewart was previously based in Cyprus, and the island was the location forVictoria Hislop's 2015 novelThe Sunrise.[13]