The present History of Greek literature and its reception during the years of precarious democracy (1950-1956), volume V, continues the chronological presentation of the literary material, which was exposed in the previously published volumes: I and II (1918-1940), III (1941-1944), IV (1945-1949) in the corresponding years: 2001, 2003, and 2004. With volume V, we find ourselves in the period after the end of the civil war, where parliamentary democracy, with the atmosphere of the Civil War lurking, operated with questionable credibility, resulting in negative phenomena in the political horizon.
With the change of the political landscape, literature that is presented circulates with relative freedom. In newspapers, with supplements, articles, and book reviews, the dominant authors are those who have emerged since the Interwar period: 'Alkis Thrilos, V. Varikas, Aim. Chourmouzios, Kl. Paraschos, P. Haris, I. M. Panagiotopoulos, and F. Kontoglou.
In critical books, the following are circulating: "The poetry of Seferis, Cavafy - Eliot" by T. Malanos, "Reflection and Reason" by I. M. Panagiotopoulos, "Greek lyric poets, Forms and ideas" (vol. II) by Kl. Paraschos, "Modern poetry in Greece" by P. Spandonidis, "The trial of the spirit" by Aim. Chourmouzios, "Our contemporary prose" by Ap. Sachinis. From the poetic works of the established authors, I highlight: ... "Cyprus, which did not establish me..." by G. Seferis, "Endochora (1934-1937)" by A. Empeirikos, "The sonata of moonlight" by G. Ritsos, "The floor" by G. Vafopoulos, "The poems (1929-1951)" by N. Vrettakos, "Dendrokipos" by G. Themelis, and "Of loneliness and exaltation" by Zoe Karelli.
In prose, N. Kazantzakis presents five novels and M. Karagatsis presents seven. Agg. Terzakis publishes the novel "Without God", Alk. Giannopoulos the short stories "The jar of Danaids", Pantelis Prevelakis the last part of the trilogy "The Cretan" titled "The polis", and T. Athanasiadis the second part of the trilogy "The Pantheoi" titled "Marmao Pantheou". N. G. Pentzikis publishes the short story "Pragmatognosia" in a magazine.
However, from these years, we observe that a younger category of poets, prose writers, and critics begins to participate in the literary scene, a post-war generation - to put it briefly - whose perspective of observation is noticeably different from the interwar perspective, mainly not in the "aesthetic" but in the fields of "perceptions" and "receptions". Samples of their writing are attributed in the pages of this book, and we will encounter their mature works in the immediately following volume.