Erí Ritsou defends open use of her father's works amid copyright dispute

Erí Ritsou, daughter of renowned Greek poet Giannis Ritsos, issued a series of statements on Facebook and on the radio station Parapolitika 90.1 defending the public’s right to engage with her father's poetry. She stressed that, although she holds the legal copyright, she has never prohibited anyone from setting the poems to music, staging them or otherwise adapting them. “Ο πατέρας μου δεν έγραψε ποίηση για να έχω εγώ προίκα” (“My father did not write poetry to leave an inheritance for me”) she repeated, adding that the work is “something self‑sufficient” that does not need a “guardian”.

Her comments were prompted by a controversy in which Giorgos Hatzidakis, son of celebrated composer Manos Hatzidakis, refused permission for a concert featuring singer Manolis Mitsias to perform Manos’ songs. The decision caused audience backlash and revived a broader debate on the management of artists’ legacies. Ritsou reiterated that “Δεν θεωρώ ότι είμαι σωματοφύλακας του έργου” (“I do not consider myself a bodyguard of the work”) and argued that artistic freedom should prevail over restrictive inheritance claims.