Dimitris PSathas

Dimitris Psathas (1907-1979) was born in Trabzon, Pontus, and moved to Athens in 1923, where he completed his studies and dedicated himself to journalism, humor writing, and theater. In 1937, he published his first humorous book, "Themis in High Spirits," followed by "Themis is Nervous" the very next year. However, it was "Madame Sousou," the renowned heroine of his eponymous humorous novel, that made him famous throughout Greece. During the dramatic period of the Italian-German Occupation, Dimitris Psathas depicted the events in his own inimitable style in his books "Winter of '41" (1945), "Resistance" (1945), and "The Humor of an Era" (1946). The author traveled to France, England, America, Turkey, and Egypt, and shared his impressions in his books "Under the Skyscrapers" (1950), "In the Land of the Lords" (1951), and "Paris, Istanbul, and Other Cheerful Journeys" (1951). He also published another humorous novel, satirizing the morals of the time, titled "The Family of a Fool" (1956), and a series of humorous short stories called "We Almost Laughed" (1960). A selection of his chronicles was included in three books titled "From the Cheerful Side," "On the Nail and the Horseshoe," and "Beyond Raining" (1960). Alongside journalism, Dimitris Psathas also achieved triumphant success in writing comedies, some of which broke performance records in Greece. His comedies, performed by almost all the central theater companies in Athens and featuring the greatest Greek actors, include "The Grumbler" (1940), "My Little Self" (1941), "The Lightheaded" (1942), "Madame Sousou" (1942), "Sketches of the Era" (which includes the one-act plays "Kifisofon," "Blue Turtle," "Nervous Gentleman," "Madmen of the Era," and "Iphigenia... in Mourning," 1944), "Count Dimitrakis" (1947), "Life is Beautiful" (1952), "Liar Wanted" (1953), "Little Pharisees" (1954), "The Vicious Circle" (1954), "A Fool and a Half" (1956), "For God's Sake, Between Us" (1957), "The Thief Shouts" (1958), "Company of Wonders" (1959), "Mary Tells All" (1960), "Country Club Eros" (1960), "Let's Get Undressed" (1962), "The Card Player" (1963), "Wake Up, Vasilis" (1965), "The Glutton" (1966), "The Gossip" (1968), "My Beloved Dowry" (1968), "The Unruly" (1970), "The Naive" (1973), "The Little Man" (1974). Most of his theatrical works have been adapted into highly successful films—their high viewership on television today demonstrates the creator's unparalleled talent and the enduring relevance of their themes. Dimitris Psathas also published a 500-page historical chronicle, a gripping document of the life, persecutions, and resistance of the Greeks in his homeland, titled "Land of Pontus" (1966).