Nikiforos Vrettakos was a Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 writer and poet.

Biography

Nikephoros Vrettakos was born in the village of Kokees, near Sparta, but originated from Mani

Mani Peninsula

The Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a geographical and cultural region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf...

 and published his first collection of poems, Under Shadows and Lights, in 1929, at the age of seventeen. That same year he moved to Athens to attend university, but left after a year to take a series of jobs as a clerk in various businesses. In 1937 he began a thirty year career in the Greek Civil Service, also seeing combat service in the Greco-Italian War

Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...

 during this period. In 1967 he responded to the takeover of Greece by a military dictatorship by going into self-imposed exile 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....

 and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, where he remained until returning to Greece in 1974.
He also wrote a poem about Kostas Georgakis

Kostas Georgakis

Kostas Georgakis , was a Greek student of geology, who, in the early hours of 19 September 1970, set himself ablaze in Matteotti square in Genoa as a protest against the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos.- Early life :Georgakis grew up in Corfu in a family of five...

, the student who set himself ablaze in Genoa as a protest against the junta.

Nikephoros Vretttakos was considered one of Greece's most important poets. He won a number of prizes and medals, including the Greek State Poetry Prize twice. Some of his poems became popular songs in musical settings by Greek composers, including Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...

. His verse was also translated into many languages. He was also elected as a member of the Academy of Athens

Academy of Athens (modern)

The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy, and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926, and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education...

in 1987.

Works

Greek text:

• Τά ποιήματα (Tria Phylla, Athens, 1991) 3 vols.

Works by or about, in English:

• The Charioteer: An Annual Review of Modern Greek Culture. Numbers 33/34 1991-1992 (Pella Publishing Company, Inc.) Book length special issue of articles about and English translations of Vrettakos's poems.

Anthologies in English including some of Vrettakos's poems:

• Bien, P. et al. A Century of Greek Poetry: Bilingual Edition. (Cosmos Publishing, Vale, N.J. 2004.)

• Friar, Kimon. Modern Greek Poetry. (Efstathiadis, Athens, 1993.)

• Raizis, M. Byron. Greek Poetry Translations. (Efstathiadis, Athens, 1983.)