Georgios Vafopoulos


Georgios Th. Vafopoulos was a Greek poet, prose writer but also just writer, teacher and journalist of the 20th century.

Biography

Early years

Vafopoulos was born on 3 September 1903 in Gevgelija, then Ottoman Empire. After the Second Balkan War, he settled in Edessa, in Fano of Kilkis, in Goumenissa and finally in Thessaloniki. In 1923 he moved to Athens, where he was enrolled in the Mathematic School of the University of Athens, but his studies got cancelled at the beginning of 1924 as he suffered from Tuberculosis. Then, he returned to Thessaloniki, and together with Kostas Kokkinos, they ran the management of the magazine "Makedonika Grammata". From then, he started collaborating with magazines and newspapers, in which his poems, writings and articles were published. He was also the first and most notable donator of the up-coming Municipal Library of Thessaloniki.

Later years

He served as the library manager from its foundation in 1939 until 1963, with some compulsory pauses, most notably during the German occupation of Greece. He was also a member of the editorial team of the literatural magazine "Makedonikes Imeres". He was the Secretary General of the First State Theater of Thessaloniki and a member of the Board of Directors of the State Theater of Northern Greece. He was also a teacher of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1990s. He received many literary prizes, from the Academy of Athens, from the municipality of Thessaloniki, but as well as from several literature societies and organizations.

Personal life and travels

In 1924 he met with Thessalonician Anthoula Stathopoulou, whom she married in 1931. In the same year he travelled to Mount Athos. In 1938 he travelled to Italy, France and Switzerland. In the same year he met with Anastasia Gerakopoulou, whom she married in 1946. In 1951 he travelled to England, where he visited the British Library. In 1955 he travelled to his hometown, Gevgelija, then under Yugoslavia, where he visited his grandfather's grave. From then until 1974 he travelled to many countries, United States, Austria, Romania, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and finally Cyprus. The same year he suffered a severe heart attack.
He passed away on 15 September 1996, after a two-month hospitalization in a clinic of Thessaloniki, at the age of 93.

Works

Some of his works are the following: