- Andreas Kalvos
Andreas Kalvos (Greek: Ἀνδρέας Κάλβος;
1792 -November 3 ,1869 ) was a contemporary ofDionysios Solomos and one of the greatest Greekwriter s of the 19th century.Biography
Andreas Kalvos was born in 1792 on
Zakynthos to anupper-class mother (Andriani Roukani) and amiddle-class adventurer father (Ioannis Kalvos). In 1802 his father took the two children, Andreas and younger Nikolaos, and but not his wife, toLivorno ("Leghorn"), to provide to his son Andreas possibilities for better education. There, Andreas first read Greek literature and Greek and Latin antiquity.In Livorno he wrote his first work, "
Hymn to Napoleon"; an antiwar poem, that he later repudiated (this is how we know of its existence, as the poem itself was not saved). Around the same time he lived for a few months inPisa , where he worked as a secretary; and then moved toFlorence , the centre of intellectual and artistic life of the time. His father died in 1812, and Kalvos's finances were deeply strained. However,, during that year he also metUgo Foscolo , the most honoured Italian poet and scholar of the era. Foscolo accepted him as hiscopyist , and put him to teaching a protegé of Foscolo's. Foscolo himself would teach Kalvosneoclassicism , archaizing ideals, and politicalliberalism . In 1813 Kalvos wrote three tragedies in Italian: "Theramenes ", "Danaides " and "Hippias ". He also completed four dramatic monologues, in the neoclassical style. In the end of 1813, Foscolo self-exiles himself atZurich . Kalvos meets him again there on 1816, when he also learns about the death of his mother, a thing that saddened him deeply as seen in his "Ode to Death". Meanwhile he was composing, from 1814, the "Ode to the Ionians".By the end of 1816 the two poets travelled together to
England and their interaction continues up to February 1817, when the irritable and bitter character of both dissolves their friendship. Kalvos earned a living by giving Italian language lessons and paid translations of religious books, both Italitan and Greek. In 1818–1819 he gave lectures on the correct pronunciation of ancient Greek. He composed and published a modern Greek grammar, an Italian learning method in 4 volumes and deals with the syntax of an English-Greek dictionary.In May 1819 he married Theresa Thomas who dies one year later. His simultaneous love affair with his student Susan Ridout was a failure, as well. During that time it is speculated that he attempted to commit suicide. He left England at the beginning of 1820.
On September 1820, while returning to Florence, he stopped a short while in
Paris . He became involved in the movement of theCarbonari and he is arrested and expelled onApril 23 ,1821 . He retreated toGeneva , finding support in thephilhellene circle of the city. He worked again as a teacher of foreign languages, while publishing of a manuscript of theIliad , that however is not successful. Carried away in the enthusiasm of the outbreak of the Greek revolution he published, in 1824, the first part of his Greek poems, "The Lyre", a collection of ten odes. Almost immediately, the odes were translated into French and find the most favourable reception. In the beginning of 1825, Kalvos returns to Paris where one year later he published ten more odes, "Lyrics", with financial aid of philhellenes.In the end of July 1826 he travelled to
Nauplion . He was disappointed however by the prevailing national disputes and by the indifference of the people towards him and his work. Then in August of the same year, he went toCorfu , where he taught in theIonian Academy ("Ionios Akademia"); as a private tutor until he was appointed to the Academy in 1836 . He was director of theCorfiot Gymnasium ("Kerkyraiko Gymnasio"), during 1841, but resigned by the end of the year; he also contributed to the local newspapers.For many years, both Kalvos and
Dionysios Solomos both lived on Corfu, but the two do not appear to have known each other. This is probably due to his wayward character; the fact he wasn't recognized in his homeland is perhaps also owed to that.In the end of 1852 Kalvos left Corfu and relocatee himself in
Louth, Lincolnshire , England, where he married Charlotte Wadans a year after his arrival. Kalvos died onNovember 3 ,1869 .Works
* "Lyre -- Odes of Andreas Kalvos (Λύρα -- ᾨδαὶ Ἀνδρέα Κάλβου)" 1824 ( at Greek
Wikisource )
* "Lyrics (Λυρικά)", 1826
* "Hippias"
* "Danaides "
* "Theramenes"
* "The Seasons (Le Stagioni -- Giovanni Meli)"
* "Italian Lessons in Four Parts", 1820
* "Ode to the Ionians (ᾨδὴ είς Ἰονίους)", 1814
* "Plan of the New Principles of Letters (Σχέδιο Νέων Ἀρχῶν τῶν Γραμμάτων)"
* "Apology for Suicide (Ἀπολογία τῆς Αὐτοκτονίας)"
* "Introduction to the Differential Calculus (Έρευνα περὶ τῆς Φύσεως τοῦ Διαφορικοῦ Ὑπολογισμοῦ)", 1827
* "Graces, parts, Foscolo (Χάριτες, ἀποσπάσματα, Φώσκολος)", 1846
* "Hymn to Napoleon (Ὕμνος πρὸς τὸν Ναπολέοντα)", 1813-1815
* "Book of Public Prayers (Βιβλίον τῶν Δημοσίων Προσευχῶν)", 1820
* "Grammar of the Modern Greek Language (Γραμματικὴ τῆς Νέας Ἑλληνικῆς Γλώσσης)", 1822
* "Liturgia Anglicana Polyglotta (translations)", 1821-1826
* "Theological Criticism (Ἐπίκρισις Θεολογική)", 1849External links
* [http://www.strofi.com/writersgr/kalvos/kalvos.html Biography of Andreas Kalvos] (in Greek)
ources
Adaptation of the corresponding article in the [http://el.wikipedia.org/ Greek version of Wikipedia] .
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