Katerina Gogou ( el, Κατερίνα Γώγου; 1940–1993) 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, author and actress.

Early life

From the age of 5 years she started playing in children's plays. However she did not spend pleasant childhood years due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the Axis Occupation of Greece.

Career

Acting

Katerina Gogou debuted in theater with Dinos Iliopoulos' theater company in the play ''Ο Κύριος πέντε τοις εκατό'' (''Mr. five percent'') in 1961. Most of the films she participated in were

Finos Film Finos Film (Greek: Φίνος Φιλμ) is a film production company that dominated the Greek film industry from 1943 to 1977. It was founded by Filopimin Finos in 1942 during World War II. It was the biggest film production company in Greece at ...

productions. She became more widely known for roles of cheerful and carefree women like in the movies ''Το ξύλο βγήκε από τον παράδεισο'' (''The wood came out of paradise'' - note that "ξύλο", literally translating to "wood", in Greek is an idiom meaning "the act of hitting someone") and ''Μια τρελή τρελή οικογένεια'' (''A crazy crazy family''). She has received the award for best actress in a lead role in

Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), organized by the cultural institution of the same name under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, is held every November in Thessaloniki.TIFF features international competition secti ...

for the movie ''Το βαρύ πεπόνι'' (''The heavy melon'' - this phrase in Greek is an idiom referring to someone who tries to appear as an overly masculine man). She made her first cinematographic appearance in the film ''Ο άλλος'' (''The other one / The other person'').

Poetry and writing

As a poet she was known for her revolutionary and aggressive writing. She was an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

and her political identity was often reflected in her poems, such as ''Υπερασπίζομαι την Αναρχία'' (''I support Anarchy'') or ''Εμένα οι φίλοι μου είναι μαύρα πουλιά'' (''My friends are black birds''). She also wrote some books with one of them, ''Τρία κλικ αριστερά'' ''(Three clicks left)'', being translated into English in 1983 by

Jack Hirschman Jack Hirschman (December 13, 1933 – August 22, 2021) was an American poet and social activist who wrote more than 100 volumes of poetry and essays. Biography Hirschman was born in New York City to a Russian Jewish family. He received a B.A. ...

and published by Night Horn Books in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and also into Turkish in 2018 by Turkish author Mahir Ergun and published by Belge International Publishing House in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Maiden's Cheek Maiden's Cheek ( gr, Το ξύλο βγήκε από τον παράδεισο) is a 1959 Greek comedy film directed by Alekos Sakellarios, literally translated as "The beating came from paradise". Cast * Aliki Vougiouklaki - ''Liza Papastavrou' ...

'' (1959) ..... Lazarou * ''

Law 4000 ''Nomos 4000'' ( el, Νόμος 4000, "Law 4000") is a 1962 Greek drama film directed and written by Giannis Dalianidis and starring Zoi Laskari and Vasilis Diamantopoulos. The film was produced by Finos Films. The title is derived from the ...

'' (1962) ..... Kleo * ''

And the Wife Shall Revere Her Husband ''And the Wife Shall Revere Her Husband'' ( el, Η δε γυνή να φοβήται τον άνδρα) is a 1965 Greek comedy film. The film won the best director award in 1st Chicago International Film Festival. Plot Antonis and Eleni are an u ...

'' (1965) ..... Pagona * ''

What Did You Do in the War, Thanasi? ''What did you do in the war, Thanasis?'' ( el, Τι έκανες στον πόλεμο, Θανάση;, translit=Ti ekanes ston polemo, Thanasi?) is a 1971 Greek satirical drama film. It starred Thanasis Veggos as Thanasis, a poor labourer trying ...

'' (1971) ..... Froso Karathanasi

References

External links

IMDb.com bio

Goodreads.com bio
1940 births 1993 deaths Modern Greek poets Suicides in Greece 20th-century Greek women writers 20th-century Greek actresses 20th-century women writers 20th-century Greek poets 1993 suicides Actresses from Athens Greek anarchists {{Anarchist-stub