Nikiforos Vrettakos ( el, Νικηφόρος Βρεττάκος; Krokees, 1 January 1912 –

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 ...

, 4 August 1991) was a Greek writer and poet.

Biography

Nikephoros Vrettakos was born in the village of Krokees (Κροκεές), near

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

but originated from

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...

. He published his first collection of poems, ''Under Shadows and Lights'', in 1929, at the age of seventeen. That same year he moved to

to attend

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, but left after a year to take a series of jobs as a clerk in various businesses. In 1937 he began a thirty-year career in the Greek Civil Service, also seeing combat service in the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...

during this period. In 1967 he responded to the takeover of Greece by a

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

by going into self-imposed exile in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where he remained until returning to Greece in 1974. He also wrote a poem about

Kostas Georgakis Kostas Georgakis ( el, Κώστας Γεωργάκης) (23 August 194819 September 1970) was a Greek student of geology, who in the early hours of 19 September 1970, set himself ablaze in Matteotti square in Genoa in a fatal protest against th ...

, the student who set himself ablaze in Genoa as a protest against the junta. Nikephoros Vrettakos was considered one of Greece's most important poets. He won a number of prizes and medals, including the Greek State Poetry Prize twice. Some of his poems became popular songs in musical settings by Greek composers, including Mikis Theodorakis. His verse was also translated into many languages. He was also elected as a member of the Academy of Athens in 1987. Vrettakos died in Athens.

Works

Greek text: *''Τά ποιήματα'' (ed. Tria Phylla, Athens, 1991), 3 vols Works by or about, in English: *''The Charioteer: An Annual Review of Modern Greek Culture.'' Numbers 33/34 1991-1992 (Pella Publishing Company, Inc.) — Book length special issue of articles about and English translations of Vrettakos's poems *"Nikiforos Vrettakos - Selected Poems", translated by David Connolly, Aiora Press, Athens 2015 Anthologies in English including some of Vrettakos's poems: *Bien, P. et al. ''A Century of Greek Poetry: Bilingual Edition.'' (Cosmos Publishing, Vale, N.J. 2004) *Friar, Kimon. ''Modern Greek Poetry'' (Efstathiadis, Athens, 1993) *Raizis, M. Byron. ''Greek Poetry Translations'' (Efstathiadis, Athens, 1983)

Notes

1912 births 1991 deaths Greek male poets Generation of the '30s Greek Resistance members Members of the Academy of Athens (modern) 20th-century Greek poets 20th-century Greek male writers {{Greece-poet-stub Maniots People from Laconia Greek military personnel of World War II