Giannis Kontos

Giannis Kondos was born in Aigio in 1943. He studied economics and worked as an insurance agent. Between 1971-1976, he co-managed the bookstore "Iniochos" with Thanasis Niarchos, a meeting point for writers and intellectuals during the final years of the dictatorship. He made his literary debut with poetry in 1965 and published his first book in 1970. He has published fifteen poetry books, two prose books ("Noble Metals," Vol. 1 and 2), and three children's books. His poems and writings have appeared in magazines and newspapers. In 1973, he received a grant from the Ford Foundation. For many years, he collaborated with radio stations and the "Kedros" publishing house. He occasionally contributed to Greek and international magazines, as well as "To Vima tis Kyriakis." In 1980, a record featuring his poems set to music by composer Nikos Kallitsis, titled "Attempt," was released. He wrote texts about contemporary Greek painters. In April 1992, a selection of his poems titled "When a Drum is Heard Over the City" was published in a limited edition, illustrated by painter Dimitris Mytaras. His eleventh book, "Nails in the Clouds," 1999, is an anthology of all his poetry books, curated by painter Yiannis Psychopaidis, complemented with 20 engravings. He taught at a theater school. In 1998, he was awarded the State Poetry Prize for his poetry collection "The Athlete of Nothing." In 2009, he received the Ouranis Foundation Award from the Academy of Athens for his entire poetic oeuvre.