Kostas Ouranis ( el, Κώστας Ουράνης, pen name of Κώστας Νιάρχος ''Kostas Niarchos''; 1890–1953) was an acclaimed

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, travel writer and journalist.

Life

Ouranis was born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

in 1890 to Nikolaos Niarchos and Angeliki Yannousi from

Leonidio Leonidio ( el, Λεωνίδιο, Katharevousa: Λεωνίδιον, Tsakonian: Αγιελήδι) is a town and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality South Kyn ...

, Arcadia, where he grew up and went to

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. He went to high school in

Nafplion Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

and then

, where he graduated. In 1908 he moved to Athens and worked as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for a while, before moving to

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

for studies he did not complete. While there, he suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

, and relocated to Davos in Switzerland in order to recover. There he met Manuela Santiago from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, they got married but the marriage did not last. His second marriage, which lasted until his death in 1953 was with Eleni Ourani, also known with the pen name Alkis Thrylos (''Άλκης Θρύλος''). He was the Greek

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

in Lisbon from 1920 to 1924, when he moved back to

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

and worked as a

in many newspapers; as a

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locat ...

he traveled throughout the world. His shaky health, however, deteriorated, especially during the Occupation of Greece (1941–1945). He died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

in 1953.

Legacy

To this day, the Ouranis foundation, run by the Academy of Athens, grants scholarships to foreign students studying Modern Greek Literature, gives each year awards for prose, poetry and essay and publishes works of Greek Literature under the series ''Νεοελληνική Βιβλιοθήκη'' (Modern Greek Library).

Selected works

The main part of his works were poetry and travel writing; he also wrote essays and he was a distinguished translator. Many of his works was collected and published posthumously by his widow, Eleni Ourani.

Poems

*''Σαν όνειρα'' (Like dreams), 1909 *''Spleen'', 1912 *''Νοσταλγίες'' (Nostalgies), 1920 *''Ποιήματα'' (Poems), 1953

Travel writing

*''Sol y Sombra'' (Sun and shadow), 1934 *''Σινά, το Θεοβάδιστον Όρος'' ( Sinai, the mountain walked by God), 1944 *''Ιταλία'' (Italy), 1953 *''Ισπανία'' (Spain), 1954 *''Γλαυκοί δρόμοι'' (Glaucous Roads), 1955 *''Ελλάδα'' (Greece), 1956 *''Από τον Ατλαντικό στη Μαύρη Θάλασσα'' (From the Atlantic to the Black Sea), 1957

Other works

*''Κάρολος Μπωντλαίρ'' (

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...

), 1918 *''Αναβίωση'' (Rebirth), 1955 *''Αποχρώσεις'' (Tones of Color), 1956 *''Δικοί μας και ξένοι'' (Our own and foreign), 1954-1956 (in three volumes) *''Στιγμιότυπα'' (Short Cuts), 1958

Notes

External links

Official website for the Kostas and Eleni Ouranis foundationPoems which were set to music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouranis, Kostas 1890 births 1953 deaths Greek male poets Constantinopolitan Greeks Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece 20th-century Greek poets 20th-century Greek male writers People from Nafplion Writers from Istanbul Journalists from Istanbul