Gregorios Xenopoulos

Gregorios Xenopoulos

Gregorios Xenopoulos (born December 9, 1867 in Constantinople , † January 14, 1951 in Athens ) was a Greek writer .

biography

Xenopoulos' father Dionysios came from the Ionian island of Zakynthos , his mother Eulalia was a native of Constantinople. He spent his childhood and youth in Zakynthos. In 1883 he enrolled in the University of Athens to study mathematics and physics. But he never graduated in these subjects, but dealt early with literature, which became his sole source of income.

In 1892 he decided to settle permanently in Athens. Two years later he married Euphrosyne Diogenides. The couple had a daughter, but separated after a year and a half. Xenopoulos married a second time. In 1901 he married Christina Kanellopoulos, with whom he had two daughters. Xenopoulos worked with many newspapers and magazines. He published studies, articles as well as short stories and novels.

In 1894 he took over the management of the magazine "Illustrierte Hestia ". In 1896 he became editor-in-chief of the well-known magazine "The Education of the Children" ("Η Διάπλασις των Παίδων αίδων), to which he subscribed as a child. He remained editor-in-chief of this magazine until 1948 and was also one of its main authors.

From 1901 to 1912 he published works and studies in the magazine "Panathenaia". From 1912 he published serial novels in the newspaper "Ethnos". In 1927 Xenopoulos founded the magazine "Neue Hestia" and was its director until 1934.

In 1931 he founded the Association of Greek Writers together with the writers Palamas , Sikelianos and Kanzantzakis .

He died on January 14, 1951 in Athens and was buried with public honors.

Works

Xenopoulos was an author with a great literary oeuvre. He has written more than 80 novels and a variety of short stories. As a writer, he first appeared in 1888 with the novel "Der Mensch der Welt" ("Ο ανθρωπος του κοσμου"). This and the subsequent novel "Nikolaos Sigalos" (1890) were not very successful. Subsequently, he was inspired by his home island Zakynthos and wrote some of his best works: "Margarita Stepha" (1893) and "Red Rock" (1905). This was followed by the Athens acting novels "The War" ("O πόλεμος" - 1914) and "The Secret Engagements" ("Οί μυστικοί αρραβώνες" - 1915). In 1915 his work "Laura" was also created. His most ambitious literary project was the social trilogy "Rich and Poor" ("Πλούσιοί και πτωχοί" - 1919), "Honorable and Dishonorable" ("Τίμιοι και άτιμοι" - 1921), "Happy and Unhappy" ("ί 1924). The first two works in the trilogy are considered his best. Other important works are: "Aufgetauchte" ("Αναδυομένη" - 1923), "Isabella" (1923) and "Teresa Barma-Dakosta" (1925). His works are mostly set in Athens or Zakynthos. The main theme is love, especially that between people from different social classes.

He also wrote plays. His first play "The Stepfather" premiered in 1895. From the beginning of the 20th century he worked with the magazine "Neue Bühne" ("Νέα Σκηνή") by Konstantinos Christomanos . His most important theater works are: "The Secret of the Kontessa Baleraina" (1904), "Stella Biolante" (1909) and "Studieren".

Xenopoulos also made an important contribution to literary criticism. In the magazine "Panathenaia" he published a large number of literary reviews , including those of Alexandros Papadiamantis , Giannis Kampysis and Demetrius Vikelas . In 1903 he introduced Konstantinos Kavafis to the Greek public for the first time in this magazine .

Web links

• Website of the Xenopoulos Museum in Zakynthos