Kostas Varnalis ( el, Κώστας Βάρναλης; 14 February 1884 – 16 December 1974) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Life

Varnalis was born in

Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a pop ...

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, '' vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Ott ...

(now in Bulgaria), in 1884. As his name suggests, his family originated from

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

; his father's family name was Boubous. He completed his elementary studies in the Zariphios Greek high school in Plovdiv and then moved to Athens in 1902 to study

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. While there, he became involved in the Greek language dispute, taking the side of the demoticists over the supporters of the ''

katharevousa Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...

''. After his graduation in 1908 he worked for some time as a teacher in Burgas, before returning to Greece and teaching in Amaliada and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. During the next years, he worked as a teacher and part-time journalist, also engaging in translation work. In 1913, he took part in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

. In 1919 he gained a scholarship and travelled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

where he studied philosophy,

and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. It was during his Parisian studies that he became a Marxist and reviewed his ideas on poetry in theory and in practice. His political alignment resulted in his being dismissed from his teaching position at the Paedagocical Academy in 1926 and barred from any state employment. Varnalis thus took to

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, a profession he practised until the end of his life. In 1929, he married the poet Dora Moatsou. In 1935, he participated in the Soviet Writers' Conference in Moscow as Greece's representative. Under the

4th of August Regime The 4th of August Regime ( el, Καθεστώς της 4ης Αυγούστου, Kathestós tis tetártis Avgoústou), commonly also known as the Metaxas regime (, ''Kathestós Metaxá''), was a totalitarian regime under the leadership of Gener ...

, he was sent to internal exile in

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...

and

Agios Efstratios Agios Efstratios or Saint Eustratius ( el, Άγιος Ευστράτιος), colloquially Ai Stratis ( el, Άη Στράτης), anciently Halonnesus or Halonnesos ( grc, Ἁλόννησος), is a small Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea abo ...

. During the German Occupation of Greece, he took part in the resistance movement as a member of the National Liberation Front (EAM). In 1959, he was awarded the

Lenin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (russian: международная Ленинская премия мира, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a pane ...

. Varnalis died in Athens on 16 December 1974, and is buried in the

First Cemetery of Athens The First Cemetery of Athens ( el, Πρώτο Νεκροταφείο Αθηνών, ''Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón'') is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a prestigious ceme ...

Writings

Varnalis published his first poetic work at the Greek-language Plovdiv newspaper ''News of Aimos'', under the pen name ''Figeus'' (Φηγεύς). His first appearance in Greece was in the magazine ''Noumas'' (Νουμάς) under his real name.

Poetry

* ''Kirithres'' (Κηρήθρες, "Honeycombs"), Varnalis' first collection, Athens 1905. * ''O Proskynitis'' (Ο Προσκυνητής, "The Pilgrim"), 1919. * ''To fos pou kaiei'' (Το φως που καίει, "The Burning Light"),

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

1922, under the

pen-name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Dimos Tanalias. * ''Sklavoi poliorkimenoi'' (Σκλάβοι πολιορκημένοι, "Besieged Slaves"), 1927. * ''Poiitika'' (Ποιητικά, "Poetic Works"), collection, 1956. * ''Eleftheros Kosmos'' (Ελεύθερος Κόσμος, "Free World"), collection, 1965. * ''Orgi laou'' (Οργή λαού, "Wrath of People"), collection, published posthumously in 1975.

Prose and literary criticism

* ''O laos ton mounouchon'' (Ο λαός των μουνούχων, "The eunuch people"), 1923, under the

Dimos Tanalias. * ''O Solomos horis metafysiki'' (Ο Σολωμός χωρίς μεταφυσική, "

Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ� ...

without Μetaphysics"), 1925. * ''H alithini apologia tou Sokrati'' (Η αληθινή απολογία του Σωκράτη, "The True Apology of

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

", 1931. * ''Alithinoi anthropoi'' (Αληθινοί άνθρωποι, "Real People"), 1938. * ''To imerologio tis Pinelopis'' (Το ημερολόγιο της Πηνελόπης, "The Diary of

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

"), 1947. * ''Oi diktatores'' (Οι δικτάτορες, "The Dictators"), 1956. * ''Pezos logos'' (Πεζός λόγος, "Prose"), 1957. * ''Solomika'' (Σολωμικά, "On Solomos"), 1957. * ''Aisthitika Kritika A kai B'' (Αισθητικά Κριτικά Α και Β, "Aesthetic Critical Works A and B"), 1958. * ''Anthropoi. Zontanoi - Alithinoi'' (Άνθρωποι. Ζωντανοί - Αληθινοί, "Humans. Alive - Real"), 1958. * ''Filologika Apomnimonevmata'' (Φιλολογικά Απομνημονεύματα, "Philological Memoirs"), 1980.

Theatrical

* ''Attalos o Tritos'' (Άτταλος ο Τρίτος, " Attalos the Third"), 1972.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varnalis, Kostas 1884 births 1974 deaths National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Greek communists National Liberation Front (Greece) members 20th-century Greek poets Greek dramatists and playwrights Writers from Burgas Lenin Peace Prize recipients Burials in Athens Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek prisoners and detainees Greek male poets Bulgarian emigrants to Greece