Kostas Ouranis

Infobox Writer
name = Kostas Ouranis


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birth_date = 1890
birth_place = Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
death_date = 1953
death_place = Athens, Greece
occupation = poet, travel writer, journalist, translator, essayist
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period = 1908-1953
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Kostas Ouranis (Greek: Κώστας Ουράνης, pen name of Κώστας Νιάρχος) was an acclaimed Greek poet, travel writer and journalist.

Life

Ouranis was born in Istanbul in 1890 to Nikolaos Niarchos and Angeliki Yannousi from Leonidio, Arcadia, where he grew up and went to elementary school. He went to high school in Nafplion and then Istanbul, where he graduated. In 1908 he moved to Athens and worked as a journalist for a while, before moving to Paris for studies he did not complete.

While there, he suffered from tuberculosis, and relocated to Davos in Switzerland in order to recover. There he met Manuela Santiago from Portugal, they got married but the marriage did not last. His second marriage, which lasted until his death in 1953 was with Eleni Ouranis, also known with the pen name Alkis Thrylos ("Άλκης Θρύλος").

He was the Greek Consul in Lisbon from 1920 to 1924, when he moved back to Athens and worked as a journalist in many newspapers; as a correspondent he traveled throughout the world. His shaky health, however, deteriorated, especially during the Occupation of Greece (1941-1945). He died from a heart attack in 1953.

Legacy

To this day, the Ouranis foundation, run by the Academy of Athens, grants scholarships to foreign students studying Modern Greek Literature [ [http://www.idrimaurani.gr/grant.html Ouranis foundation - scholarships] ] , gives each year awards for prose, poetry and essay [ [http://www.idrimaurani.gr/profile.html Ouranis foundation - profile] ] and publishes works of Greek Literature under the series "Νεοελληνική Βιβλιοθήκη" (Modern Greek Library). [ [http://www.idrimaurani.gr/publications.html Ouranis foundation - publications] ]

elected Works

The main part of his works were poetry and travel writing; he also wrote essays and he was a distinguished translator. Many of his works was collected and published posthumously by his widow, Eleni Ouranis.

Poems

*"Σαν όνειρα" (Like dreams), 1909
*"Spleen", 1912
*"Νοσταλγίες" (Nostalgies), 1920
*"Ποιήματα" (Poems), 1953

Travel writing

*"Sol y Sombra" (Sun and shadow), 1934
*"Σινά, το Θεοβάδιστον Όρος" (Sinai, the mountain walked by God), 1944
*"Ιταλία" (Italy), 1953
*"Ισπανία" (Spain), 1954
*"Γλαυκοί δρόμοι" (Glaucous Roads), 1955
*"Ελλάδα" (Greece), 1956
*"Από τον Ατλαντικό στη Μαύρη Θάλασσα" (From the Atlantic to the Black Sea), 1957

Other works

*"Κάρολος Μπωντλαίρ" (Charles Baudelaire), 1918
*"Αναβίωση" (Rebirth), 1955
*"Αποχρώσεις" (Tones of Color), 1956
*"Δικοί μας και ξένοι" (Our own and foreign), 1954-1956 (in three volumes)
*"Στιγμιότυπα" (Short Cuts), 1958

Notes

External links

* [http://www.idrimaurani.gr/index.html Official website for the Kostas and Eleni Ouranis foundation]
* [http://users.fth.sch.gr/kalodimos/Links/Oranis.htm A bio and some poems (1)] .
* [http://www.phys.uoa.gr/~nektar/arts/poetry/kwstas_oyranhs_poems.htm A bio and some poems (2)] .
* [http://www.geocities.com/diafana_krina_gr/poiites/ouranis.htm A bio and some poems (3)] .
* [http://stixoi.info/stixoi.php?info=Lyrics&act=index&sort=alpha&lyricist_id=664 Poems which were set to music] .