Tzeni Mastoraki

Jenny Mastoraki was born in Athens in 1949. She studied Byzantine and Medieval Philology at the University of Athens. She made her literary debut with a poem included in Dimitris Iatropoulos' "Anti-Anthology" in 1971. The following year, her poems caught the attention of Yiannis Ritsos and Nana Kallianesi, leading to the publication of her first book, "Tolls," by Kedros, with a title chosen by the poet. To date, four poetry books have been published ("Tolls," 1972, "The Family," 1978, "Stories for the Deep," 1983, and "With a Wreath of Light," 1989), with her latest book, inspired by the work of D. Solomos, receiving almost universal acclaim from critics and the public alike. It has been praised, among other things, for its masterful use of the Greek language (G. P. Savvidis) and mythopoetic tradition (D. Maronitis). Her poems have been translated into various languages and published in anthologies and magazines. Karen Van Dyck, director of the Modern Greek Studies program at Columbia University in New York, dedicates an entire chapter to Jenny Mastoraki in her book "Kassandra and the Censors" (1998), considering her "one of Greece's leading poets and translators." A skilled translator, Jenny Mastoraki has translated a diverse range of authors, including J.D. Salinger, Carson McCullers, Elias Canetti, Heinrich Böll, Heinrich von Kleist, Karl Marx, Carlo Goldoni, Edgar Allan Poe, Upton Sinclair, Lewis Carroll, Giorgio Manganelli, Federico García Lorca, Harold Pinter, Sarah Kane, Miguel de Cervantes, Howard Barker, Paul Sweezy, Ágnes Heller, as well as Heinrich Hoffmann's "Struwwelpeter" and fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. In 1989, she was awarded the Thornton Niven Wilder Prize by Columbia University (Translation Center) for her overall translation work, and in 1992, she received the special award from the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) for her translation of the children's book "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis (published by Kedros). Her poems in Greek and in French translation, selected by herself, are included on her blog: http://mastorakilfh2007.blogspot.com.