Kostas Tachtsis

Kostas Tachtsis (1927-1988). Kostas Tachtsis was born in Thessaloniki. His father hailed from Eastern Rumelia. At the age of seven, following his parents' separation, he moved to Athens with his grandmother. He spent his school and teenage years in Athens and enrolled in the Law School of the University of Athens, where he studied for two years. Prior to this, he had applied to the Merchant Marine Academy but was unsuccessful due to illness, which prevented him from attending the exams. In 1947, he joined the army and reached the rank of second lieutenant. He later worked as a secretary for the American supervisor at the Louros hydroelectric project. In 1951, he published his first poetry collection titled "Poems." Four more collections followed until 1956, with "Symphony of the 'Brazilian'" (1954) and "Café 'Byzantium'" (1956) gaining him recognition. During this period, he became friends with Odysseas Elytis, Nikos Gatsos, and Andreas Embirikos. In 1954, he left for England, where he stayed until the summer of the following year. He returned to Athens and worked professionally as an English language teacher. From the spring of 1956 to December 1964, he lived almost continuously in Western Europe, Australia, and the USA, with intermittent returns to Greece. During this time, he worked on a Danish cargo ship heading to Germany, collaborated on the film "Boy on a Dolphin" as an assistant director, served as a manager for pianist Tony Georgiou's tour in Africa, and worked as a store clerk and railway employee in Australia. In 1960, he embarked on a Vespa tour of Europe. During his travels, he wrote "The Third Wedding Wreath," which he completed in Australia during his second stay there and sent to Greece for printing. The work was rejected as unsuitable, and Tachtsis self-published it in Athens in 1962. Two months later, he left for America, where he stayed until the end of 1964. After his final return to Athens, he joined the editorial board of the magazine "Pali" (1964-67) alongside Nanos Valaoritis, Manto Aravantinou, and Giorgos Makris, and worked as a tour guide and translator (translating four plays by Aristophanes and works by Eduardo De Filippo, Ataúde, etc.). During the dictatorship, he co-signed the "Declaration of the 18" against the junta and censorship in 1969 and was persecuted by the Security Police. In the last years of his life, he almost abandoned writing. An openly gay man and transvestite, Kostas Tachtsis was brutally murdered under unresolved circumstances at his home in Kolonos at the age of sixty-one. Kostas Tachtsis's poetic work revolves around themes of everyday life and is characterized by a strong lyrical mood, which also permeates his prose. The work that established him in the realm of post-war Greek literature is the novel "The Third Wedding Wreath," a realistic yet often lyrical depiction of the life and worldview of Greek middle-class people, covering the period from the early 20th century to the author's contemporary era. Of particular interest is Tachtsis's psychological insight, especially in his female characters, and his exceptional care for linguistic expression. His co-editor at the magazine "Pali," Nanos Valaoritis, wrote about the author in the magazine "Anti," issue. On September 9, 1988, in a text titled "Kostas Tachtsis. The Game of Writing: An Enthusiastic Experience of Death," it is noted: "The life of Kostas Tachtsis was such an anxious search, obsessive, fanatical, persistent, for the most disgraceful truth, that from it emerged the flower of a unique writing style. [...] And, although in some way he was 'Aristophanic,' he was never 'parodic.' His life was a parody. That was where he played theater, while writing was straightforward, a serious matter that did not allow for theatrics." For more biographical details on Kostas Tachtsis, see Alexis Ziras, "Tachtsis Kostas," in "World Biographical Dictionary," vol. 9b, Athens, Ekdotiki Athinon, 1988, Kostas G. Papageorgiou, "Kostas Tachtsis," in "Post-War Prose; from the War of '40 to the Dictatorship of '67," vol. Z, pp. 250-289, Athens, Sokolis, 1988, Alexis Ziras, Georgia Theofani, "Tachtsis Kostas," in "Dictionary of Modern Greek Literature," Athens, Patakis, 2007, and his autobiography: "The Terrible Step," Athens, Exandas, 1989. (Source: Archive of Greek Authors, EKEBI).