Christoforos Liontakis
Encyclopedia
Christoforos Liontakis (b. Heraklion
, Crete
1945) is an award winning Greek
poet
and translator
. He read Law
at the University of Athens and Philosophy of Law at Sorbonne
, Paris
. His first collection of poems was published in 1973.
He belongs to the so-called Genia tou 70, which is a literary term referring to Greek
authors who began publishing their work during the 1970s, especially towards the end of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974
and at the first years of the Metapolitefsi
.
For his collection of poems With the Light, in 1999, he received the Greek National Book Award for the Year 2000 and the poetry prize of the prestigious literary journal Diavazo. The French Ministry of Culture has honored him with the Knighthood of the Arts and Letters and the municipality of Heraklion
, has awarded him with the Nikos Kazantzakis
Literary Prize.
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
1945) is an award winning Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
. He read Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the University of Athens and Philosophy of Law at Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. His first collection of poems was published in 1973.
He belongs to the so-called Genia tou 70, which is a literary term referring to Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
authors who began publishing their work during the 1970s, especially towards the end of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974
Greek military junta of 1967-1974
The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...
and at the first years of the Metapolitefsi
Metapolitefsi
The Metapolitefsi was a period in Greek history after the fall of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 that includes the transitional period from the fall of the dictatorship to the Greek legislative elections of 1974 and the democratic period immediately after these elections.The long...
.
For his collection of poems With the Light, in 1999, he received the Greek National Book Award for the Year 2000 and the poetry prize of the prestigious literary journal Diavazo. The French Ministry of Culture has honored him with the Knighthood of the Arts and Letters and the municipality of Heraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
, has awarded him with the Nikos Kazantzakis
Nikos Kazantzakis
Nikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer and philosopher, celebrated for his novel Zorba the Greek, considered his magnum opus...
Literary Prize.
Poetry
- Το τέλος του τοπίου (The end of the landscape), 1973
- Μετάθεση (Transference), 1976
- Υπόγειο γκαράζ (Underground Garage), 1978
- Ο Μινώταυρος μετακομίζει (The Minotaur Moves), 1982
- O ροδώνας με τους χωροφύλακες (Rose Garden with the Gendarmes), 1988
- Με το φως (With the Light), 1999
Selected translations
- StendhalStendhalMarie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
, Αρμάνς (Armance), 1978 - Bonnefoy, YvesYves BonnefoyYves Bonnefoy is a French poet and essayist. Bonnefoy was born in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, the son of a railroad worker and a teacher....
, Οι τάφοι της Ραβέννας (Les Tombeaux de Ravenne), 1981 - Genet, JeanJean GenetJean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
, Ο σκοινοβάτης, 1986 - Rimbaud, ArthurArthur RimbaudJean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
, Μια εποχή στην Κόλαση (Une Saison en Enfer), 2004