Lyntia Stefanou

The poet, essayist, and translator Lydia Stefanou (1927-2013) was born in Athens with the maiden name Georgouli. She completed her education at the Experimental High School of the University of Athens, the School of Rhythmic and Orchestral Art of Koula Pratsika, the French Institute of Athens (1943-1946), the Greek-American College Pierce (1946-1947), and the Law School of the University of Athens (law and political sciences, 1945-1949). Following her diplomat husband Alexandros Stefanou, she traveled with him to Jerusalem, Ankara, Nicosia, Sofia, Geneva, London, and Canberra, Australia, between 1953-1979. She was the founder of the Merlin Gallery (1963) and a founding member of the magazines "Palmos" (1944-1945), "Aegean" (1945), and "Stachys" (1950-1951). Her literary debut was in 1944 with publications in the magazine "Neaniki Foni" and "Palmos." In 1958, her first poetry collection titled "Poems" was published. This was followed by collections such as "Landscapes from the Origin and Wandering of Yk" (1965), "Six Episodes from the Cycle of Monsters" (1971), "The Megaphones" (1973), "Words and Things" (1983), and essays "The Problem of Method in the Study of Poetry" (1972), "General and Specific on Poetry" (1993). She translated works by Guillaume Apollinaire, C. M. Bowra, Claude Mosse, Jacqueline de Romilly, and Dylan Thomas into Greek. She collaborated with magazines such as "Tomes," "Zygos," "New Poetry," "New Greek," "Epoches," among others. In 1973, she was awarded the Second State Prize for Criticism-Essay for her study "The Problem of Method in the Study of Poetry," and in 1994, she received the State Essay Prize for "General and Specific on Poetry." Lydia Stefanou is placed within post-war Greek poetry. Her first poetry collection draws its themes from the experiences of the German occupation period, while her later works focus on depicting the impasse faced by humans in the inhumane conditions of the modern world. A key characteristic of her writing is the combination of lyrical elements with theoretical thought, stemming from her involvement in literary criticism and literary theory. In the early 1980s, she was among the founding members of the Poetry Symposium in Patras, where she presented the work of many new poets. She also played a leading role in the establishment of the Society of Authors in 1981 and was instrumental in the institution of World Poetry Day in 1997, proposing March 21, the day of the vernal equinox, as the day to celebrate poetry. She passed away in Athens on the morning of February 6, 2013, due to severe health issues, at the age of 86. For more biographical details on Lydia Stefanou, see Alexandros Argyriou, "Lydia Stefanou," in "Greek Poetry: The First Post-War Generation," Athens, Sokolis, 1982, Alexis Ziras, "Stefanou Lydia," in "World Biographical Dictionary," vol. 9a, Athens, Ekdotiki Athinon, 1988, and Alexis Ziras, "Stefanou Lydia," in "Dictionary of Modern Greek Literature," Athens, Patakis, 2007. (Source: Archive of Greek Authors, EKEBI).