Nikiforos Vrettakos ( el, Νικηφόρος Βρεττάκος;

Krokees Krokees ( el, Κροκεές, before 1927: Λεβέτσοβα - ''Levetsova'') is a village and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Evrotas, of which it is a m ...

, 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 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 ...

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 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 ...

, 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: 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 kingdoms of Italy and G ...

during this period. In 1967 he responded to the takeover of Greece by a Greek military junta of 1967–1974, military dictatorship by going into self-imposed exile in Switzerland and Italy, where he remained until returning to Greece in 1974. He also wrote a poem about Kostas Georgakis, 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 (modern), 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