Nikos Gatsos

Nikos Gatsos (1911 or 1914-1992). Nikos Gatsos was born in Chania Fragkovrysis, Arcadia. He completed high school in Tripoli and then moved with his mother and sister to Athens, where he studied in the Department of Philology at the University. Between 1935-1936, he traveled to Southern France and Paris. He made his literary debut in 1931 with the publication of the poem "Of Solitude" in the magazine "Nea Estia," and around the same time, he joined the circle of the magazine "Nea Grammata," with which he also collaborated as a literary critic, a role he extended to other literary magazines in Athens. In 1943, he published "Amorgos," a poetry collection considered a milestone in the history of Greek surrealist poetry, influencing both contemporary and later poets. However, after "Amorgos," he published only three poems in periodicals. In the post-war period, he collaborated with K.G. Katsibalis's magazine "Anglo-Hellenic Review" and the National Radio Foundation. He also engaged in theatrical translation (Lorca, Strindberg, O'Neill, Lope de Vega, Tennessee Williams, etc.) for productions at the National Theatre, the Art Theatre, and other Athenian troupes, and from the 1950s, he worked as a lyricist. His lyrics were set to music by Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Stavros Xarchakos, and other Greek composers. He was honored with the City of Athens Award for his entire body of work (1987) and was elected a corresponding member of the Barcelona Academy for his contribution (through his translations) to the promotion of Spanish literature (1991). He passed away in Athens. In 1995, a Turkish translation of his poetic work by Heracles Millas was published in Istanbul. For more biographical details on Nikos Gatsos, see "Gatsos Nikos" in the "World Biographical Dictionary," vol. 3, Athens, Ekdotiki Athinon, 1985, Demosthenes Kourtovik, "Nikos Gatsos," in "Greek Postwar Writers: A Guide," Athens, Patakis, 1995, pp. 55-56, Alexis Ziras, "Gatsos Nikos," in "Dictionary of Modern Greek Literature," Athens, Patakis, 2007, pp. 403-404, and Filippos Mandilaras-Angeliki Passia, "Nikos Gatsos: Works," magazine "Eli-trochos," issue 11, Winter 1996-1997, pp. 8-13. (Source: Archive of Greek Authors, EKEBI).