Dimitris Nikoretzos

The poet, essayist, and literary critic Dimitris Nikoretzos was born in Constanța, Romania, and as a child, he repatriated with his parents to Lesvos, the island of his ancestors, where he completed his primary education. He was admitted to the Department of Physics at the School of Science of the University of Athens and, after completing his studies, pursued a career as a physics teacher in various state educational institutions at all levels. He was first introduced to the literary world by Stratis Myrivilis and later by Georgios Valetas, who persuaded him to publish his first poetry collection, "Reflections in Twilight," which Valetas prefaced with complimentary remarks. He has occasionally contributed to the newspapers "To Vima" and "I Kathimerini" with articles and columns (in the latter, he briefly published his book reviews) and to the most reputable literary magazines. From 1993 to 1998, he maintained a permanent column on poetry criticism in "Nea Estia." He has published aesthetic essays, studies, prose works, etc., alongside his main focus, which is poetry, although he has been relatively sparse in this field. His intellectual activity has been multifaceted. He has particularly engaged in research and theory of poetry, writing numerous related studies. Invited by academic Konstantinos Trypanis, he undertook the literary care of Trypanis's poetic work and edited his collections "Kataleton" and "Soros." He is the President of the "Depountios House of Poetry" and a member of the "National Society of Greek Writers." In the past, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the "Parnassos" Literary Society, in the Literary Department, under the presidency of Georgios Papachatzis. In his scientific capacity, he is a member of the "Union of Greek Physicists," and before entering the teaching field, he worked as an assistant in a soil mechanics laboratory, later engaging in research and writing studies on topics of Relativity and quantum astrophysics theory. Finally, he is a regular member of the "Hellenic Air Force Academy" and the Athenian Club. His extensive three-volume historical-philological work "Kopanos, the Greek of Smyrna," which the daily press described as a "national work" and a "literary asset," was presented at a major event, along with other speakers, by academic Konstantinos Despotopoulos, in the large conference hall of the Municipality of Athens (11.12.2000). His work has been recognized with many distinctions (mentioned in his bibliography), and for his overall intellectual contribution, he was awarded a Diploma of Honor by the Ministry of Education "in recognition of his literary activity, beyond his educational-service work." A children's poem he wrote as a high school student represented Greece—under the auspices of the Ministry of Education—in the global children's poetry competition of the "American Poetry Society," where it was honored with a commendation among students competing from around the world. His poem "Elegy for Little Ivan" (The Child of the Lanterns), from his collection "The Swans Will Not Cry Tonight" (2000), was translated by UNICEF into all the world's languages, following a recommendation by a relevant UN committee, for its universal message about unprotected children. In 1989, he received the poetry award from the Academy of Athens. (Presenter Nikiforos Vrettakos).