Nanos Valaoritis
Encyclopedia
Nanos Valaoritis is one of the most distinguished writers in Greece today. He has been widely published as a poet, novelist and playwright since 1939, and his correspondence with George Seferis
(Allilographia 1945-1968, Ypsilon, Athens 2004) has been a bestseller. Raised within a cosmopolitan family with roots in the Greek War of Independence
but twice driven into exile by events, Valaoritis has lived in Greece, England, France and the United States, and as a writer and academic he has played a significant role in introducing the literary idioms of each country to the rest. The quality, the international appeal, and the influence of his work has led Valaoritis to be described as the most important poet of the Hellenic diaspora since Constantine Cavafy.
in Switzerland
in 1921 but grew up in Greece where he studied classics and law at Athens University. He was also writing poetry, and in 1939 when he was barely eighteen, he saw himself published in the pages of George Katsimbalis’ review Nea Grammata alongside contributions from Odysseas Elytis
and George Seferis, and was immediately taken into their literary circle. It was an ominous yet heady time, those early months of the war, during which Valaoritis was witness to the seminal encounter of Seferis and Katsimbalis with Henry Miller
and Lawrence Durrell
, which was to resonate within both Greek and Anglo-Saxon literature
for years to come.
, W. H. Auden
, Dylan Thomas
and Stephen Spender
, and he worked for Louis MacNeice at the BBC
. As well as studying English literature at the University of London, he translated modernist Greek poets, among them Elytis and Embirikos
, and contributed to Cyril Connolly
's Horizon
and to John Lehman's New Writing. His own first volume of collected poems, E Timoria ton Magon (Punishment of Wizards), with decorations by John Craxton, was published in London in 1947. He paved the way for Seferis' success in the English-speaking world by editing and translating, along with Durrell and Bernard Spencer, Seferis' King of Asine which was published in 1948 to enthusiastic reviews.
Then in 1954 he moved to Paris where, as well as studying Mycenaean grammar at the Sorbonne, he was prominent among surrealist poets under André Breton
, and where also he met his wife Marie Wilson, the American surrealist painter.
, a position he held for twenty-five years.
A self-described surrealist, Valaoritis sometimes creates a sense of carnival in his work through parody, pastiche and absurdity. But the bracket can be misleading, for surrealism alone fails to convey the depths of his mind and the richness of his work. As in photographs taken of Valaoritis so in his poetry you see at once the mage and the pirate, or the detached Olympian with an outsider's bemusement yet a man who can also be intensely lyrical and sensual.
Once again Nanos Valaoritis lives in Greece, where he has co-edited the literary review Synteleia (End of the World) and now, optimistically, its successor Nea Synteleia (New End of the World) and has published a remarkable body of work, including essays, translations, anthologies and books of poetry, short stories, a novella and four novels variously in Greek, English and French. His most recent novel, the bestselling Broken Arms of the Venus de Milo (Agra, Athens 2002, and soon to be published in France), is a literary and historical romp which has a basis in a true family story, for the arms of the famous Venus were lost at sea when a French naval vessel stole the statue from an ancestor of Valaoritis, a Greek who was the chief dragoman
of the Ottoman navy
. Valaoritis’ Anthology of Modern Greek Poetry, co-edited with Thanasis Maskaleris (Talisman, New Jersey 2003) is encompassing and commanding, an invaluable contribution to the dissemination of Greek poetry throughout the English-speaking world, while Pan Daimonium, his latest volume of poetry (Philos Press, Lacey, Washington State 2005) shows him as playful, wise and enigmatic as ever.
In 2004 the Athens Academy of Letters and Science awarded Nanos Valaoritis the prestigious prize for poetry in recognition of his life's work, and the President of Greece presented him with the Gold Cross of Honour, given for his services to Greek Letters.
Three of his poems are available on-line at the poetry journal Studiohttp://ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/studio/v02n01/studio2h.html.
Giorgos Seferis
Giorgos or George Seferis was the pen name of Geōrgios Seferiádēs . He was one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century, and a Nobel laureate...
(Allilographia 1945-1968, Ypsilon, Athens 2004) has been a bestseller. Raised within a cosmopolitan family with roots in the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
but twice driven into exile by events, Valaoritis has lived in Greece, England, France and the United States, and as a writer and academic he has played a significant role in introducing the literary idioms of each country to the rest. The quality, the international appeal, and the influence of his work has led Valaoritis to be described as the most important poet of the Hellenic diaspora since Constantine Cavafy.
Early years
Valaoritis was born to Greek parents in LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 1921 but grew up in Greece where he studied classics and law at Athens University. He was also writing poetry, and in 1939 when he was barely eighteen, he saw himself published in the pages of George Katsimbalis’ review Nea Grammata alongside contributions from Odysseas Elytis
Odysseas Elytis
Odysseas Elytis was regarded as a major exponent of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. In 1979 he was bestowed with the Nobel Prize in Literature.-Biography:...
and George Seferis, and was immediately taken into their literary circle. It was an ominous yet heady time, those early months of the war, during which Valaoritis was witness to the seminal encounter of Seferis and Katsimbalis with Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
and Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
, which was to resonate within both Greek and Anglo-Saxon literature
Anglo-Saxon literature
Old English literature encompasses literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others...
for years to come.
Training years
In 1944 Valaoritis escaped from German-occupied Greece across the Aegean to Turkey and from there through the Middle East to Egypt, where he made contact with Seferis who was serving the Greek government in exile as First Secretary of the Greek Legation in Cairo. In 1944, at the instigation of Seferis, Valaoritis went to London to develop literary links between Greece and Britain. He met T. S. EliotT. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
, W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
, Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
and Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
, and he worked for Louis MacNeice at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. As well as studying English literature at the University of London, he translated modernist Greek poets, among them Elytis and Embirikos
Andreas Embirikos
Andreas Embirikos was a Greek surrealist poet and the first Greek psychoanalyst.-Life:...
, and contributed to Cyril Connolly
Cyril Connolly
Cyril Vernon Connolly was an English intellectual, literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine Horizon and wrote Enemies of Promise , which combined literary criticism with an autobiographical exploration of why he failed to become the successful author of...
's Horizon
Horizon (magazine)
Horizon: A Review of Literature and Art was an influential literary magazine published in London, between 1940 and 1949. It was edited by Cyril Connolly who gave a platform to a wide range of distinguished and emerging writers....
and to John Lehman's New Writing. His own first volume of collected poems, E Timoria ton Magon (Punishment of Wizards), with decorations by John Craxton, was published in London in 1947. He paved the way for Seferis' success in the English-speaking world by editing and translating, along with Durrell and Bernard Spencer, Seferis' King of Asine which was published in 1948 to enthusiastic reviews.
Then in 1954 he moved to Paris where, as well as studying Mycenaean grammar at the Sorbonne, he was prominent among surrealist poets under André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
, and where also he met his wife Marie Wilson, the American surrealist painter.
Back in Greece
In 1960 Valaoritis returned to Greece, and between 1963 and 1967 he was publisher and chief editor of the Greek avant-garde literary review Pali. But when the junta came to power in 1967, he felt he had no choice but to go into voluntary exile, and in 1968 he went to America where he became professor of comparative literature and creative writing at San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, a position he held for twenty-five years.
A self-described surrealist, Valaoritis sometimes creates a sense of carnival in his work through parody, pastiche and absurdity. But the bracket can be misleading, for surrealism alone fails to convey the depths of his mind and the richness of his work. As in photographs taken of Valaoritis so in his poetry you see at once the mage and the pirate, or the detached Olympian with an outsider's bemusement yet a man who can also be intensely lyrical and sensual.
Once again Nanos Valaoritis lives in Greece, where he has co-edited the literary review Synteleia (End of the World) and now, optimistically, its successor Nea Synteleia (New End of the World) and has published a remarkable body of work, including essays, translations, anthologies and books of poetry, short stories, a novella and four novels variously in Greek, English and French. His most recent novel, the bestselling Broken Arms of the Venus de Milo (Agra, Athens 2002, and soon to be published in France), is a literary and historical romp which has a basis in a true family story, for the arms of the famous Venus were lost at sea when a French naval vessel stole the statue from an ancestor of Valaoritis, a Greek who was the chief dragoman
Dragoman
A dragoman was an interpreter, translator and official guide between Turkish, Arabic, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts...
of the Ottoman navy
Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...
. Valaoritis’ Anthology of Modern Greek Poetry, co-edited with Thanasis Maskaleris (Talisman, New Jersey 2003) is encompassing and commanding, an invaluable contribution to the dissemination of Greek poetry throughout the English-speaking world, while Pan Daimonium, his latest volume of poetry (Philos Press, Lacey, Washington State 2005) shows him as playful, wise and enigmatic as ever.
In 2004 the Athens Academy of Letters and Science awarded Nanos Valaoritis the prestigious prize for poetry in recognition of his life's work, and the President of Greece presented him with the Gold Cross of Honour, given for his services to Greek Letters.
Three of his poems are available on-line at the poetry journal Studiohttp://ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/studio/v02n01/studio2h.html.
Poetry
- The Punishment of the Mages (Η Τιμωρία των Μάγων, 1947)
- Central Arcade (Κεντρική Στοά, 1958)
- Terre de Diamant 1958
- Hired Hieroglyrhs 1970
- Diplomatic Relations 1971
- Anonymous Poem of Foteinos Saintjohn (Ανώνυμνο Ποίημα του Φωτεινού Αηγιάννη, 1977)
- Εστίες Μικροβίων 1977
- The Hero of Random (Ο Ήρωας του Τυχαίου, 1979)
- Flash Bloom 1980
- The Feathery Confession (Η Πουπουλένια Εξομολόγηση, 1982)
- Some Women (Μερικές Γυναίκες, 1983)
- Ο Διαμαντένιος Γαληνευτής 1981
- Poems 1 (Ποιήματα 1, 1983)
- Στο Κάτω Κάτω της Γραφής 1984
- The Color Pen (Ο Έγχρωμος Στυλογράφος, 1986)
- Poems 2 (Ποιήματα 2 1987)
- Anideograms (Ανιδεογράμματα, 1996)
- Sun, the Executioner of a Green Thought (Ήλιος, ο δήμιος μιας πράσινης σκέψης, 1996)
- Allegoric Cassandra (Αλληγορική Κασσάνδρα, 1998)
Prose
- The Traitor of the Written Words (Ο Προδότης του Γραπτού Λόγου, 1980)
- Rising from the Bones (Απ' τα Κόκκαλα Βγαλμένη, 1982)
- Xerxes; Treasure (Ο Θησαυρός του Ξέρξη, 1984)
- The Murder (Η Δολοφονία, 1984)
- The Talking Ape or Paramythologia (Ο Ομιλών Πίθηκος ή Παραμυθολογία, 1986)
- My Afterlife Guaranteed 1990
- Paramythologia (Παραμυθολογία, 1996)
- God's Dog (Ο Σκύλος του Θεού, 1998)
Essays
- Andreas Empeirikos (Ανδρέας Εμπειρίκος, 1989)
- To a Theory of Writing (Για μια Θεωρία της Γραφής, 1990)
- Modernism, Avant Garde, and Pali (Μοντερνισμός, Πρωτοπορία και Πάλι, 1997)
- Aristotelis ValaoritisAristotelis ValaoritisAristotelis Valaoritis was a Greek poet and politician. He was also the great-grandfather of Nanos Valaoritis, one of the most distinguished writers of Greece.-Biography:...
, A Romantic (Αριστοτέλης Βαλαωρίτης, Ένας Ρομαντικός, 1998)