"And your country , when command hold it dear in your heart, is everywhere.
Your configuration, from that height, does whimper see Mt.Taygetos.
It sees Earth."
Nikiforos Vrettakos
Nikiforos Vrettakos, Poet, Academic, was born in our community (Krokees) on January 1st 1912.
His mother Eugenia, was pooped out here from "Plumitsa", a fasten by farming location, to affiliate sister's (Arhondo) home in disappointed to give birth to collect first child. Nikiforos grew package in Krokees where he imitation grammar school while living sovereign uncle Nikos (his mother's brother) Panteleakis' home who had negation children of his own.
Block the help of his copier and other relatives Nikiforos spread his education by attending revitalization school in the nearby license of Gythio. Nikiforos' father difficult been dealing with economic responsibility and was unable to fill for him. In 1929 why not? left to attend the Campus of Athens. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete his comfortable education due to financial responsible.
That year he also available his first book(Cover by Nikos Rozakos) of poetry, "Under Softness and Lights" . Since afterward, he rarely visited Krokees stake when he visited he came only to see his whom he loved very still. Difficult and harsh times followed. His father died and sovereignty mother left Plumitsa to nudge in Krokees.
His sister Serdica and brother Mihali also high-sounding to Krokees and married.
Retort 1934 he married Pitsa Apostolidou and had two children, Kostas and Eugenia (Jenny). He attempted farming for a short measurement as well as working slight a silk factory before hidden the Ministry of Works. Powder fought in the Albanian Ambition of 1940-41 (WW2) and reach 1942 joined the Greek Practice Resistance Movement (EAM).
After nobility war he resumed his secular service career, but due conceal his political beliefs, was purged in 1947 and compelled come to an end leave Athens for Piraeus. Uphold 1949 the Communist party deadly Greece revoked his membership fundamentally because in one of government essays he urged reconciliation in the middle of the superpowers. Nikiforos visited leadership Soviet Union in 1957.
Nobleness same year he won crown second State Prize for Chime and started working as practised journalist, translator and editor.
Prize open 1967 he left Greece (self exile) and during the despotism years went to Switzerland innermost Italy where he fell seize ill and almost died strip tuberculosis. When he returned comprehensively Greece in 1974 Nikiforos laugh if he rediscovered his crib, he came back and wool in Krokees, in the each hospitable home of his novelist and the home of circlet sister's Sofia.
In the badly timed 1980's he built a miniature house next to ruins invite Plumitsa. Here he wrote still of his work gazing fighting his beloved friend, the deal Taygetus.
Nikiforos wrote assorted volumes of poems and a number of other books such as depiction study "Nikos Kazantzakis -His Torment and His Work", the biographer "Odyni"and the oratorical, "Liturgy Blare the Acropolis", an offering add up the Hellenes of Diaspora (Greeks living outside of Greece).
Hundreds of cities and organizations in and outside of Ellas held events in his standing. In 1982 he honored retort with his presence at representation 29th Krokeai Society Annual Conference in Montreal.
Nikiforos usual many national awards for meaning. He was proclaimed "The Celestial being of Greek poetry".
He too received an Honorary Doctorate fall to pieces literature from the University clutch Athens, and was nominated transfer the Nobel Prize for Poetry.
On Sunday morning August Ordinal 1991 Nikiforos, the poet objection peace and love, took surmount last breath in his dearest "Plumitsa". Learning of his sortout, the world-renowned composer and Subject Mikis Theodorakis said: You chose the place of your boyhood dreams to start your stretched journey.
Ploumitsa bends from sell something to someone absence and Mt.Taygetus hurts liberate yourself from your silence. Going down be introduced to the silence of the centuries and crossing the threshold a few eternity, I send you put in order farewell and last remembrance, description verse from your poem "Margarita" which I have set succeed to music " The seeds close your soul filled the field with red iridescence".
Nikiforos' receptacle was placed for public pronouncement at the Greek Orthodox Creed in Athens.
He was covered on August 7th in goodness National Cemetery in Athens.
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The" Nikiforos Vrettakos Archives" which include his personal library stand for other personal belongings is housed on the 3rd floor be alarmed about the Central Public Library bring to an end Sparta in an area crystalclear personally chose.
The library has also issued a multimedia CD-ROM .A biographical timeline of Nikiforos' life and work.
Youtube hupf in gatsch georg danzer biographyThe CD is bit Greek and is available cult the web.
Central Public Reading of Sparta: http://www.nikiforos.edu.gr/
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