Kostas Ouranis ( ; pen name of Κώστας Νιάρχος, ''Kostas Niarchos''; 12 February 1890 – 12 July 1953) was a Greek poet, travel writer and journalist.

Life

Ouranis was born in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1890 to Nikolaos Niarchos and Angeliki Yannousi from

Leonidio Leonidio (, 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 Kynouria, of which it i ...

, Arcadia, where he grew up and went to

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

. He went to high school in

Nafplion Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

and then

, where he graduated. In 1908, he moved to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and worked as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for a while, before moving to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and relocated to

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in order to recover. There he met Manuela Santiago from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, 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 thro ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

from 1920 to 1924, when he moved back to

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, locati ...

he traveled throughout the world. His shaky health, however, deteriorated, especially during the

Occupation of Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Italy, in their ongoing war that was initiated in October 1940, having encountered major strategica ...

(1941–1945). He died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1953 in Athens.

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, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

), 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