Stratis Myrivilis

Stratis Myrivilis (real name Efstratios Stamatopoulos) was born in Sikamia, Lesvos, as the firstborn son of Charalambos Stamatopoulos and Aspasia Georgiadi. He attended the Urban School of Sikamia and then the Gymnasium of Mytilene, graduating in 1910. In 1912, he moved to Athens and enrolled at the University while working as an editor for magazines and newspapers. He soon abandoned his studies for financial reasons. He volunteered in 1912 and fought in the Balkan Wars (where he was wounded in the leg), World War I, and the Asia Minor Campaign (as a second lieutenant). After the destruction of Smyrna, he moved to Lesvos, where he lived until the end of 1932, when he settled in Athens with his family. During World War I, he began writing "Life in the Tomb," and in 1920 he married Eleni Dimitriou, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. From 1925 to 1933, he supported the Labor Party of A. Papanastasiou, both from Lesvos and Athens. In Lesvos, he collaborated with newspapers such as "Salpinx," "Eleftheros Logos," "Kambana," "Tachydromos," and others, publishing prose, poems, articles, and chronicles. He became a member of the Central Committee of the National Association of Greek Reservists of the Aegean and joined the National Defense movement, while after the destruction, he supported the Military Revolution. In Athens, he collaborated with newspapers like "Kathimerini," "Ethniki," "Akropolis," "Proia," "Apogevmatini," "Eleftheria," and magazines like "Theatis," "Nea Estia," "Elliniki Dimiourgia," "Akritas," and "Stratiotika Nea." He also worked at the Athens Radio Station and the Library of the Hellenic Parliament (from which he was dismissed in 1955 with the rank of Director A' class, having reached the age limit). During the civil war, he openly opposed communist ideology. He was a member of the National Society of Greek Writers and the Society of Greek Writers, the Academy of Athens (elected in 1958 after five rejected nominations), and an honorary member of the International Institute of Letters and Arts. He was awarded the State Prize for Prose (1940 for "The Blue Book") and the Cross of the Commander of the Royal Order of George I (1959). He died of bronchopneumonia at the Evangelismos Hospital in Athens. Stratis Myrivilis made his literary debut in 1915 with the short story collection "Red Stories." In his early steps, he was associated with the literary generation of 1920, which was heavily influenced by Kostis Palamas and the socio-political events of the early century (Greco-Turkish War of 1897, World War I, Asia Minor Catastrophe). However, he soon distanced himself from the pessimistic worldview of his contemporaries and emerged as one of Europe's greatest anti-militarist writers and a precursor of the Generation of the '30s. A milestone in this initial phase of his work was "Life in the Tomb," which inaugurated modern Greek anti-war literature. The work "The Teacher with the Golden Eyes" (1932) was seen by critics as a transitional stage towards the second period of his writing activity (1933-1949), characterized by a tendency to reject the present and turn towards childhood, a tendency that also influenced the linguistic and stylistic aspects of his work. From this second period, we mention his novel "The Virgin Mermaid." Finally, in the third period of his work (1949-1969), Myrivilis turned towards a variety of themes, goals, and expressive means. This includes his short story collections "The Green Book," "The Blue Book," "The Red Book," and "The Maroon Book." For more biographical details about Stratis Myrivilis, see Manolis Gialourakis, "Myrivilis Stratis," in "The Great Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature," vol. 10, Athens, Haris Patsis, n.d., Niki Lykourgos, "Myrivilis Stratis," in "World Biographical Dictionary," vol. 7, Athens, Ekdotiki Athinon, 1987, Niki Lykourgos, "Outline of the Chronography of Stratis Myrivilis (1890-1969)," Athens, Moraitis School Study Society - Estia Bookstore, 1990, and Takis Karvelis, "Stratis Myrivilis," in "Interwar Prose; from the First to the Second World War (1914-1939)," vol. 6, Athens, Sokolis, 1993. (Source: Archive of Greek Authors EKEBI).