Nikos Gatsos ( el, Νίκος Γκάτσος; 8 December 1911 – 12 May 1992) was a Greek poet, translator and lyricist.

Biography

Nikos Gatsos was born in 1911 in Asea in Arcadia, a district of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

, where he finished primary school (''dimotiko''). He attended high school (''gymnasio'') in Tripoli, where he became acquainted with literature and foreign languages. Afterwards, he moved to

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 a ...

, where he studied literature, philosophy, and history at the University of Athens for two years only. His knowledge of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

was quite good and he was already familiar with

Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called N ...

, Dionysios Solomos, Greek folk songs, and recent trends in European

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

. In Athens, he came in contact with the literary circles of the day becoming one of the lifelong friends of fellow poet Odysseus Elytis and published his poems, small in extent and in a classic style, in the magazines ''Nea Estia'' (1931–32) and ''Rythmos'' (1933). During that period he also published criticism in ''Makedonikes Imeres'' (Μακεδονικές Ημέρες), ''Rythmos'' (Ρυθμός), and ''Nea Grammata'' (Νέα Γράμματα) (for

Kostis Bastias Kostis ( el, Κωστής) is a hypocorism of the Greek name Konstantinos ( Constantine). Notable people with the name include: Given name *Kostis Adosidis Pasha (1818–1895), Prince of Samos * Kostis Chatzidakis (born 1965), Greek politician * ...

, Myrtiotissa, and

Thrasos Kastanakis In Greek mythology, Thrasos ( Ancient Greek: Θράσος) is the personified concept of boldness. Although the word θράσος itself could be used both in the positive ("courage") and the negative ("over-boldness, insolence") senses, in the ...

, respectively). In 1935 he lived in France, in Paris and the South of France. In 1936 he met Odysseus Elytis, his "brother" in poetry. In 1943, Aetos published his long poem ''Amorgos'', a major contribution to contemporary Greek poetry notable especially for its combination of

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

with traditional Greek folk poetry motifs. He subsequently published three more poems: "Elegeio" (1946) in ''Filologika Chronika'', "The Knight and Death" (Ο ιππότης κι ο θάνατος) (1947), and "Song of Old Times" (Τραγούδι του παλιού καιρού) (1963), dedicated to

Yorgos Seferis Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important ...

, in ''Tachydromos'' magazine. After

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he worked with the ''Greek-British Review'' as a translator and with Ellinikí Radiofonía as a radio director. During that period he also began writing lyrics for the music of Manos Hadjidakis, opening a brilliant career in modern Greek songwriting. In due course he also collaborated with Mikis Theodorakis and other notable composers. His work as a whole combines universal poetic themes such as the problems of evil, injustice, sacrifice, and the pains of love, with more specifically Greek concerns such as the sorrows of exile. His capability to handle language with accuracy led the "Art Theatre", the "National Theatre" and the "Popular Theatre" of Greece to entrust him with translations of various plays -translations that became "legendary"- first and foremost being "Blood Wedding" by Federico Garcia Lorca. He had a special relationship with Manos Hadjidakis and Nana Mouskouri. His British friends were Philip Sherrard, Peter Levi and Peter Jay, and his Irish friend, Desmond O'Grady. He died in Athens on 12 May 1992..''The Charioteer: An Annual Review of Modern Greek Culture'' number 36 1995-1996 (Special double issue Nikos Gatsos) p. 10, 183,283.

Translations

Nikos Gatsos devoted considerable time to translating plays from various languages in Greek, mainly for the

Greek National Theatre The National Theatre of Greece () is based in Athens, Greece. History The first permanent theatre in modern Greece had been the Boukoura Theatre from 1840, but it had difficulty in managing its operation and stood empty for long periods of ...

, the

Greek Theatre of Art 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 ances ...

, and the

Greek Popular Theatre 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 ances ...

. In 1944, he translated (for ''Filologika Chronika'') the poem "Night song" by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

. He also translated the following plays: *

** '' Blood Wedding'' ** ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not incl ...

'' *

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

** ''The Father'' *

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...

** '' Long Day's Journey Into Night'' All of the plays he translated were staged at the

and the

. He also associated with the magazines ''Nea Estia'', ''Tram'', ''Makedonikes Imeres'', ''Mikro Tetradio'', ''Nea Grammata'', ''Filologika Chronika'', and ''Kallitechnika Nea''. In addition, he directed plays during his association with Greek radio.

Lyrics

Nikos Gatsos played a great role, as a poet, in Greek song. He wrote lyrics for major Greek composers, including Manos Hadjidakis,

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

, Stavros Xarchakos,

Dimos Moutsis Dimos Moutsis ( el, Δήμος Μούτσης, ; born 2 August 1938) is a Greek singer-songwriter and composer. Biography Moutsis was born in Piraeus. He was a student of the violin at the Athens Conservatoire from the age of seven and gradua ...

, Loukianos Kilaidonis, Christodoulos Chalaris and Eleni Karaindrou. He wrote lyrics for several films and for the Elia Kazan's "America-America". His lyrics are known over the world because of Nana Mouskouri. His lyrics are collected in the book ''Ola ta tragoudia'' (Patakis, 1999).

Select bibliography

The following bibliography includes Gatsos' major publications in Greek and books consisting of or including a substantial number of English translations of Gatsos' writings. The Greek text of ''Amorgos,'' Gatsos' most famous work, is not given an individual entry since it went through a number of editions in Greek, most of which are now out of print. *Nikos Gatsos. ''Theatro kai poiēsē: Phederiko Gkarthia Lorka.'' Hellēnikē apodosē. Ikaros 1990. *Nikos Gatsos. ''Physa aeraki, physa me mē chamēlōneis isame.'' prometōpida Odyssea Elytē; partitoura Manou Chatzidaki. Ikaros Ekdotikē Hetairia 1992. *Nikos Gatsos. ''Amorgos.'' translated by Sally Purcell. (1980; repr. 1986; repr. London, Anvil Press Poetry, 1998. *M. Byron Raizis. ''Greek Poetry Translations.'' Athens, Efstathiadis, 1981. *Peter Bien, Peter Constantine, Edmund Keeley, Karen Van Dyck. ''A century of Greek poetry:1900-2000,'' Bilingual ed. River Vale, NJ, Cosmos Pub., 2004. *''The Charioteer: An Annual Review of Modern Greek Culture'' number 36 1995-1996 (Special double issue Nikos Gatsos) *Kimon Friar. ''Modern Greek Poetry.'' Athens, Edstathiadis, 1993.

References

External links

Early Uncollected Poems (1931-33) before ''Amorgos''Biography of Gatsos at Denise Harvey & Co.Nikos Gatsos fan page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatsos, Nikos 1911 births 1992 deaths People from Arcadia, Peloponnese Greek lyricists Greek translators Modern Greek poets 20th-century translators 20th-century Greek poets