Stratis Doukas

Stratis Doukas (1895-1983). Stratis Doukas was born in Moschonisia, in the Gulf of Adramyttium, Asia Minor, the son of Kostantis Doukas and Emilia, née Chatzapostoli. He had an older brother, Alekos. He completed his primary education in his hometown and attended high school in Ayvalik. In 1912, he enrolled in the Law School of the University of Athens and shared accommodation with Fotis Kontoglou, with whom he had a friendship since their high school years. He interrupted his studies after the outbreak of World War I and visited Lesvos and Mount Athos. In 1913, he organized folklore studies in Mytilene together with Antonis Protopatsis, and three years later, he voluntarily joined the National Defense. He fought in Macedonia and Asia Minor and was wounded. He was discharged in 1923 and focused on promoting the folk art and crafts of Asia Minor (pottery and carpet weaving) in Greece, while also organizing art exhibitions featuring works by Fotis Kontoglou and Spyros Papaloukas. Along with the latter two, he co-founded the Society of Musical Arts of Mytilene (together with Stratis Myrivilis) and the Decorative Arts Company of Athens. He was also a key member of the magazines Filiki Etaireia and Frangelio and served as the artistic director of the Kütahya Pottery Company. He collaborated with the newspapers "Macedonia" and "Balkan News" (Thessaloniki) and "Eleftheros Logos" (Mytilene). After a serious illness in 1927 and his recovery in Thessaloniki, he began painting and toured twice around the Macedonian provinces, an experience that provided material for journalistic research published in the newspaper "Proia" (Mountainous Greece), for some of his visual artworks, as well as for the narrative "The Story of a Captive." From 1929, he began collaborating with the Athenian newspapers "Proia," "Politeia," and "Neos Kosmos" as a journalist, while also publishing lyrical texts in the magazine "Kyklos." In 1931, he began his involvement with the work of sculptor Yannoulis Chalepas and met Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis. In 1934, he participated in the founding of the Society of Greek Writers. He also collaborated in the founding and circulation of the magazine "The Third Eye" along with Pikionis, Papaloukas, Chatzikyriakos-Gikas, and Karantinos (1935-1937) and the magazine "Youth" (1939-1940). From 1937 to 1939, he worked as a secretary for the Thessaloniki Tourist Committee and served as an officer during the Greco-Italian War. In 1942, he returned to Athens and married Dimitra Douka, who was also involved in literature. He participated in the National Resistance through the ranks of EAM and joined the KKE. He was abused by the German occupiers for his activities. After liberation, he served in the clinics of the International Red Cross and collaborated with the magazines "Elefthera Grammata" (1949-1950 as director), "Our Century," "Poetic Art," and "Zygos." He served as a consultant (1949-1953) and general secretary (1953-1960) of the Society of Greek Writers. In 1962, he left for prostate surgery in Moscow. The surgery ultimately did not take place, and Doukas spent the rest of his life bedridden at his home in Athens. During this time, he collaborated with the magazine "Diagonal" of Thessaloniki and completed his literary works "Odoiporos" and "Enotia," as well as his writings on Chalepas. Persecuted by the dictatorial regime of Papadopoulos, he spent the last years of his life in nursing homes. In the year of his death, he was honored as the honorary president of the Society of Greek Writers, an honorary member of the Pen Club, and an honorary citizen of Zografou. The Municipality of Zografou established a small museum with manuscripts and drawings by Stratis Doukas at its cultural center. Stratis Doukas's literary work is chronologically placed in the interwar Greek prose and extends to our post-war prose. A characteristic of his writing is the simultaneous reliance on both tradition and the innovative currents of his time, the use of the vernacular language, and the experiential element. For more biographical details on Stratis Doukas, see Tasos Korfis, "Doukas Stratis," in the "Great Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature," vol. 6, Haris Patsis, n.d., Kostas Papageorgiou, "Doukas Stratis," in the "World Biographical Dictionary," vol. 3, Ekdotiki Athinon, 1985, Tasos Korfis, "Stratis Doukas," in "Interwar Prose; from the First to the Second World War (1914-1939)," vol. C, pp. 322-342, Sokolis, 1992, and Alexis Ziras "Doukas Stratis," in the "Dictionary of Modern Greek Literature," Patakis, 2007, pp. 547-548; also see the timeline of Stratis Doukas's life and work in Tasos Korfis, "Biography of Stratis Doukas from 1895 to 1936," pp. 149-160, Prospero, 1988. (Source: Archive of Greek Writers, EKEBI)