Maria Kyrtzaki

Maria Kyrtzaki, one of the most significant poetic voices of the 1970s generation, was born in Kavala in 1948. She studied philology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1966-1971) and moved to Athens in 1973. She briefly worked in secondary education and, following the political change in Greece, joined the radio production department of ERA. Her productions focused on the use and function of language in poetic and dramatic discourse, topics she also taught at the "Empros" Theater School, which were closely related to her own poetry. She made her literary debut in 1996 with her poems "Silent Screams." Her subsequent works, known for their persistent and painstaking preparation process, include "Words" (1973), "The Circle" (1976), "The Woman with the Flock" (1982), "Summary for the Night" (1986), "Day Night" (1989), "Split Road" (1992), "Black Sea" (2000), "Scarce and Fading" (2002), and "In the Middle of the Asphalt" (2005), which compiled her poetic journey from 1973 to 2002. Her monologue "Typho" was performed in 1996 by the Simple Theater. In 2003, she was honored with the Sotirios Matraga Award from the Academy of Athens. She passed away in the early hours of January 21, 2016, in Athens, after a brief battle with cancer, at the age of 68.