Nikos Dimou
Encyclopedia
Nikos Dimou, born in 1935 in Athens
, is a Greek writer. He has worked in advertising
and as a columnist for magazines and newspapers.
where he studied French philosophy. From 1954 to 1960, he studied philosophy at the University of Munich in Germany
. He had already started writing, publishing his first book in 1953.
In 1962, he started working in advertising as a copywriter. In 1965, he founded his own company. Other than trading commercials, the company created goodwill ads and public initiatives (e.g. I don't forget for Cyprus
). In 1983, he withdrew from all business ventures in order to work full time as a writer. In 1979, Dimou started writing columns for magazines, including Epikaira (Current Issues), 4 Trochoi (4 Wheels) , Tetarto (Quarter) and Photographos
(Photographer) and newspapers including To Vima
, Kathimerini
, and the Sunday editions of Eleftherotypia
and Ethnos.
Dimou hosted his first talk show on Greek television in 1979, Mia Tainia - Mia Syzitisi (A Movie - A Discussion), and returned in 1987 with a show called Dialogoi (Dialogues). He also ran Peripeteies Ideon (Adventures of Ideas) in 1991, and Megales Parexigiseis (Big Misunderstandings) in 1999. As for radio
, he was part of the team that founded Athens 98.4 FM. Later, he had a show on the Third Programme of the ERA state radio. He has won two journalist awards (Abdi İpekçi Award and Botsis Award). In 1997, he became an honorary citizen of Ermoupoli
, his mother's hometown. Dimou was awarded the Dimitris Mitropoulos
award in 2000.
Dimou has published over 60 books, including The misfortune of being Greek (Η δυστυχία του να είσαι Έλληνας), The New Greeks (Οι Νέοι Έλληνες), The Lost Social Class (Η Χαμένη Τάξη), Apology of an Anti-Hellene (Απολογία ενός Ανθέλληνα) etc.
He has done some photographic
work, published two photo albums and has had three photo exhibitions.
He is currently a columnist in the Greek free press magazine LIFO
.
During the European Parliament election in 2009
, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Greek party Drasi
.
Other philosophical
works include
Poetic
books include
His works also include essay
s and aphorism
s:
As well as autobiographies
:
Nikos Dimou also translated poems from English
, German
and Latin
and also translated The Voices of Marrakesh by Elias Canetti
.
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, is a Greek writer. He has worked in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and as a columnist for magazines and newspapers.
Biography
He graduated from Athens CollegeAthens College
Athens College is a co-educational private independent school in Psychiko, Greece, a suburb of Athens, part of the Hellenic-American Educational Foundation which also includes Psychiko College, although both schools are usually referred to as "Athens College"...
where he studied French philosophy. From 1954 to 1960, he studied philosophy at the University of Munich in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He had already started writing, publishing his first book in 1953.
In 1962, he started working in advertising as a copywriter. In 1965, he founded his own company. Other than trading commercials, the company created goodwill ads and public initiatives (e.g. I don't forget for Cyprus
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
). In 1983, he withdrew from all business ventures in order to work full time as a writer. In 1979, Dimou started writing columns for magazines, including Epikaira (Current Issues), 4 Trochoi (4 Wheels) , Tetarto (Quarter) and Photographos
Photographos
Photographos is a Greek photography and imaging magazine, published monthly by Press Photo Publications and distributed with the Greek newspaper, Kathimerini and autonomously, the penultimate Saturday of each month....
(Photographer) and newspapers including To Vima
To Vima
To Vima is a Greek daily newspaper first published in 1922 by Dimitris Lambrakis, the father of Christos Lambrakis. It is owned by Lambrakis Press Group, a group which also publishes the newspaper Ta Nea, amongst others in its fold of publications...
, Kathimerini
Kathimerini
I Kathimerini is a daily morning newspaper published in Athens. It is published in the Greek language, as well as in an abridged English-language edition. The English edition is sold separately in the United States and as a supplement to the International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus. On 2...
, and the Sunday editions of Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
and Ethnos.
Dimou hosted his first talk show on Greek television in 1979, Mia Tainia - Mia Syzitisi (A Movie - A Discussion), and returned in 1987 with a show called Dialogoi (Dialogues). He also ran Peripeteies Ideon (Adventures of Ideas) in 1991, and Megales Parexigiseis (Big Misunderstandings) in 1999. As for radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, he was part of the team that founded Athens 98.4 FM. Later, he had a show on the Third Programme of the ERA state radio. He has won two journalist awards (Abdi İpekçi Award and Botsis Award). In 1997, he became an honorary citizen of Ermoupoli
Ermoupoli
Ermoupoli , also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis , is a town and former municipality on the island of Syros, in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Syros-Ermoupoli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, his mother's hometown. Dimou was awarded the Dimitris Mitropoulos
Dimitris Mitropoulos
Dimitri Mitropoulos , was a Greek conductor, pianist, and composer. Also known as Dimitris Mitropoulos.-Life and career:Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angeliki Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods shop at No. 15, St Marks Street. He was musically precocious,...
award in 2000.
Dimou has published over 60 books, including The misfortune of being Greek (Η δυστυχία του να είσαι Έλληνας), The New Greeks (Οι Νέοι Έλληνες), The Lost Social Class (Η Χαμένη Τάξη), Apology of an Anti-Hellene (Απολογία ενός Ανθέλληνα) etc.
He has done some photographic
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
work, published two photo albums and has had three photo exhibitions.
He is currently a columnist in the Greek free press magazine LIFO
LIFO (magazine)
LiFo is a free magazine published and distributed every Thursday in Athens, Greece. It contains articles with general socio-political content, articles on the matters of the city of Athens, interviews, reportages and information about events in Athens as well as with articles about cinema, theatre...
.
During the European Parliament election in 2009
European Parliament election, 2009 (Greece)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament in 2009 took place on June 7, 2009. The election system used in Greece is party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Greek party Drasi
Drasi
Drasi is a minor Greek political party.Founded in 2009, it is led by former government minister Stefanos Manos. Unlike Manos's previous party, it was not founded as a liberal party, but espouses "common sense" as an ideological basis....
.
Books
- Par' ola Afta (Παρ' όλα αυτά = Nevertheless),
- Mikra Vimata (Μικρά Βήματα = Short Steps),
- Imerologio tou Kafsona (Ημερολόγιο του καύσωνα = Diary of the Heat Wave) and
- Tolmires Istories (Τολμηρές Ιστορίες = Bold Stories).
Other philosophical
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
works include
- To Apolyto kai to Tavli (Το απόλυτο και το τάβλι = Backgammon and the Absolute) and
- Triptyque: Communication, Love, Freedom (Τρίπτυχο: επικοινωνία, αγάπη, ελευθερία = Triptycho: Epikoinonia, Agapi, Eleftheria).
Poetic
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
books include
- To Vivlio ton Gaton (Το βιβλίο των γάτων = The Book of Cats),
- Poiimata 1950-1990 (Ποιήματα 1950-1990 = Poems 1950-1990) and
- Listes (Λίστες = Lists).
His works also include essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s and aphorism
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s:
- I Dystihia tou na Eisai Ellinas (Η δυστυχία του να είσαι Έλληνας = The Misfortune of Being Greek)
- Apologia enos Anthellina (Απολογία ενός Ανθέλληνα = Apology of an Anti-Greek)
- Prosengiseis (Προσεγγίσεις = Approaches)
- Dokimia I: Odysseas ElytisOdysseas ElytisOdysseas 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:...
(Δοκίμια Ι: Οδυσσέας Ελύτης = Essays I: Odysseus Elytis) - Dokimia II: Ta Prosopa tis Poiesis (Δοκίμια ΙΙ: Τα πρόσωπα της Ποίησης = Essays II: The Faces of Poetry)
- I Teleia Diadromi (Η τέλεια διαδρομή = The Perfect Drive / Route)
- Psifiaki Zoi (Ψηφιακή Ζωή = Digital Life)
As well as autobiographies
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
:
- Apo tin Michail Voda stin Syrou (Από την Μιχαήλ Βόδα στην Σύρου = From Michail Voda [Street] to SyrosSyrosSyros , or Siros or Syra is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located south-east of Athens. The area of the island is . The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and the Cyclades...
[Street]) - Apo tin Odo Rinou stin Hess Strasse (Από την οδό Ρήνου στην Ες Στράσε = From Rhine Street to HessGermain Henri HessGermain Henri Hess was a Swiss-born Russian chemist and doctor who formulated Hess's Law, an early principle of thermochemistry.-Early days:...
Strasse) - Odos Galinis (Οδός Γαλήνης = Calm Street)
- Oi dromoi mou (Οι δρόμοι μου = My streets)
Nikos Dimou also translated poems from English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and also translated The Voices of Marrakesh by Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti was a Bulgarian-born modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and non-fiction writer. He wrote in German and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981, "for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power".-Life:...
.