Modern Greek literature
It included writers Stratis Myrivilis, Elias Venezis, Yiorgos Theotokas, and M. Karagatsis, and poets Giorgos Seferis, Andreas Embirikos, Yiannis Ritsos, Nikos Engonopoulos, and Odysseas Elytis.
Dido Sotiriou, Stratis Tsirkas, Alki Zei, Menis Koumandareas, Costas Taktsis, and Thanassis Valtinos are routinely mentioned as some of the most important post-war prose writers, while Iakovos Kambanellis has been described as the "father of post–World War II Greek theater".
Among more recent figures who have achieved critical acclaim and/or commercial success are Dimitris Lyacos, Petros Markaris, Chrysa Dimoulidou, Isidoros Zourgos, Christos Chomenidis, and Giannis Palavos.
[17] Their migration during the decline of the Byzantine Empire and mainly after its dissolution greatly contributed to the transmission and dissemination of Ancient Greek letters in western Europe, and thus in the development of the Renaissance humanism.
Venetian rule proved troubled from the beginning, but after the mid-16th century the change of policy towards natives and the improvement in welfare of both communities, led to a long period of peaceful coexistence and cultural crossfertilization.
Stephanos Sahlikis, the first known Greek poet to use the couplet form consistently,[26] wrote humorous poems with autobiographical elements, such as Praise of Pothotsoutsounia, Council of the Whores and The Remarkable Story of the Humble Sachlikis.
[33][34] It is a poem of over 10,000 rhyming 15-syllable iambic verses in the Cretan dialect, narrating the chivalrous love of Erotokritos for the princess Aretousa and their union after long and arduous adventures of deception and intrigue.
[39] Corfiot Iakovos Trivolis wrote The Story of Tagapiera, a panegyric of a Venetian admiral, and The History of the King of Scotland and the Queen of England, a tale taken from Boccaccio's Decameron, or, more possibly, from one of its imitations.
[48][50] Cyprus also had a significant tradition of prose chronicles in the Cypriot dialect, the most notable were written by Leontios Machairas and Georgios Boustronios, which together with all literary output declined after the subjugation by the Ottomans.
[63] Phanar in Istanbul became an intellectual centre of high importance, due to the Phanariots, members of the Greek elite of the Ottoman Empire, who had acquired great wealth and influence during the 17th century.
[68] Kaisarios Dapontes lived a turbulent life and, after becoming a monk, he wrote numerous poems, such as Mirror of Women, Garden of Graces, and Concise Canon of Many Amazing Things to be Found in Many Cities, Islands, Nations and Animals.
[83] Antonios Martelaos, Thomas Danelakis, and Nikolaos Koutouzis are called pre-Solomians (i.e. those preceding Dionysios Solomos), and are the precursors of the flourishing of Heptanese poetry in the following years.
Other writers include Iakovos Polylas, disciple of Solomos with important work on philology and translation, Andreas Laskaratos, noted for his satirical texts, and Gerasimos Markoras, best known for the heroic poem The Oath.
[107] Historical novel Loukis Laras (1879) by Demetrios Vikelas, a prolific author and translator, stands out for its naturalistic style and marked the beginning of a new era for Greek prose.
[109] Poets associated with it, stood for a rejection of Katharevousa and distanced themselves from Romantic form and content, which was now greatly based on rural life, village sketches, folk material, and everyday events.
[117] Constantine P. Cavafy, an adherent of Symbolism, Decadence, and Aestheticism, wrote both historical and lyric poetry with equally erotic sensibility, in a subtle mixture of demotic and purist Greek.
Particularly his compositions The Burning Light (1922) and Besieged Slaves (1927), characterized by effective satire and daring language, secured him a unique place in the history of modern Greek literature.
Georgios Vizyinos, mainly a short-story writer, is thought of as the pioneer of modern Greek prose[130] He published most of his tales, including the iconic My Mother's Sin, Who Was the Killer of My Brother?, and The Only Journey of His Life, between 1883 and 1884.
While his prose work is by no means of negligible significance, Xenopoulos is mostly revered for his contributions to theater; plays like The Secret of Countess Valeraina (1904), Fotini Santri (1908), and Stella Violanti (1909) have earned him the characterization of a "stunning figure" of modern Greek theatre.
[156] However, his most definitive work and the most truly representative text of Greek Modernism is the compound poem Mythistorema (1935), which contains the basic concepts and recurring themes of the poetry to follow: common, almost unpoetic speech and a continued intermingling of history and mythology.
Regularly persecuted for his political beliefs, Ritsos is seen as an ideal combination of the qualities of the engaged citizen committed to his public duty, and the expression of the naturally restless and "libertarian" artist.
Ilias Venezis is the author of the Number 31328 (1931), one of the most powerful accounts in Greek of the horror of imprisonment and enslavement, which drew heavily on his ordeal as a prisoner in the Turkish labour battalions during the Greco-Turkish War.
[190] He handled a vast array of narrative forms, ranging from the historical to the social, to fantasy literature and exotic adventure, using a charming language and displaying highly original plots.
[191] Kosmas Politis (Lemon Grove - 1930, Eroica - 1937, At Hadjifrangou's - 1962), Angelos Terzakis (The Violet City - 1937, Princess Isabeau - 1945), and Pandelis Prevelakis (Chronicle of a Town - 1938, The Sun of Death - 1959) are also major prose writers of the Generation of the '30s.
Other poets belonging to the second post-war generation are Nikos-Alexis Aslanoglou, Vyron Leontaris, Tassos Porfyris, Thomas Gorpas, Zefi Daraki, Markos Meskos, and Anestis Evangelou.
Dramatic plays often depicted the sad aspects of a cheerless life, the suffering and passions of simple, poor folk within a suffocating routine, or presented their own poetic idioms, creating extraordinary and unrealistic worlds.
- 1972), who adopted elements from the theatre of the absurd,[250] Dimitris Kechaidis (The Fair - 1964, Laurels and Oleanders - 1979), known for combining realism with humour, and Vassilis Ziogas (Antigone's Matchmaking - 1958, The Comedy of the Fly - 1967), known for his surrealist imagery.
[197] One of the most apparent examples is Eighteen Texts (1970), an anti-dictatorship statement signed by 18 well-known authors, including Giorgos Seferis, Takis Sinopoulos, Stratis Tsirkas, Menis Koumandareas, Rodis Kanakaris-Roufos, and Manolis Anagnostakis.
Katerina Gogou (Three Clicks Left - 1978, Idionymo - 1980), Manolis Pratikakis (Libido - 1978, The Water - 2003), Argyris Chionis (Attempts of Light - 1966, Shapes of Absence - 1973), Yannis Kondos (Circular Route - 1970, The Chronometre - 1972), Michalis Ganas (Unseated Dinner - 1978, Glass Ioannina - 1989), Maria Laina (Coming of Age - 1968, Hers - 1985), Vassilis Steriadis (Mr. Ivo - 1970, The Private Airplane - 1971), and Antonis Fostieris (The Great Trip - 1971, Precious Oblivion - 2003) are also notable members of the '70s Generation.
[288][289] She won critics and readers alike with the short-story collection Last Year's Fiancée (1984),[288] but her most famous work is the novel At Twilight they Return (1993), which falls under the genre of magical realism.
