The value of the book in the life of man was highlighted by the University show “reason and opposition” that took place on Tuesday, December 6, 2022. The representative of the University of Cyprus, Mrs. Doxa Komodromou, hosted this important topic that concerned, among other things, the most important contribution of the book, which is the moral and intellectual cultivation of the individual, the relationship between them, but also the writing of books by academics.  Guests were the Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology, Maria Karekla and the Associate Professor of the Department of history and Archaeology, Petros Papapoliviou.

Personal experiences and experiences with her then seven-year-old daughter, but also from the research she did as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Maria Karekla, cited as an occasion for the writing of her 1st book, which arose as they needed material to convey to children psychotherapeutic skills and knowledge. As he explained, a good way to help these children was through a fairy tale, which was also used experientially in workshops all over Cyprus, but also in cases in Greece. He also mentioned that the illustration of the book showed that especially for children it had a greater displacement. Ms. Karekla stressed that according to data obtained, 450 children in Cyprus were able to cope better with stressful situations in their lives, understood the concepts and had an effect on their own anxiety through the book. Her second book talks about addictive behaviors and ways to deal with them, while she said she was very proud that an American publishing house chose her and her co-author for the writing of this book.

Then, Associate Professor Petros Papapoliviou, stated that “every new edition is a child of yours, it requires preparation, trouble, pain, late nights, as unfortunately, the time especially of university students is limited”. Mr. Papapoliviou explained that it is difficult to distinguish any of his work, but he stressed the feeling of joy that one gets from the publication of his first book. At the same time, he talked excitedly about a book he loves, since he managed to connect Cyprus and Macedonia, two countries where he lived most of his life. Through this book the inhabitants of various villages learned about their volunteer fellow villagers in the Second World War and this resulted in them becoming monuments in their honor.

The guests also spoke about the language that should be used when writing according to the type of work and the audience to which it is addressed, while encouraging young people who wish to write books to do so. Mr. Papapoliviou stressed the importance of not using excessive adjectives to describe historical events, not omitting source references and not distorting history. He commented, In addition, that history is not only the politics of the place, but also the history of people, giving as an example, the writing of the history of athletes/footballers or other individuals.

Referring to the difficulties one faces in printing and promoting books, the two guests agreed that young people should be motivated to write, either in the form of rewards, as Ms. Karekla added, or as scholarships and/or awards to young people instead of older authors, as Mr. Papapoliviou described.

During the discussion, many questions were answered such as, by which authors they may have been influenced, which books stand out from their collection, whether they are anxious at the thought of a new author, how the sleeping giant of creativity wakes up, how their family treats them when they are isolated for months, how their psyche may have been affected during quarantine and whether there was a reason for reflection, whether they would publish anything under a pseudonym, what their writing habits are, where they are inspired and whether they know the end from the beginning of the book. In addition, positions were discussed such as whether the author should be authentic or liked by his/her readers, whether the magic of the book and the library in general was lost and what advice they give for writing a good work, but also what is considered a successful book.

Concluding the show, Ms. Komodromou announced the laureates / entries from the Cultural Services of the competition for the state literature awards, publications 2021, who will be honored at an event that will take place next Monday, December 12, 2022 at the Strovolos Municipal Theater. The show was broadcast by Rick, while you can listen to it from the link https://www.ucy.ac.cy/logos/.

The University show “reason and opposition” ends two years from its first broadcast. It started in January 2021 and to date already counts 24 themes of 90 minutes each. It hosted about 100 academics, researchers and students.