Ritsos, Yannis

Ritsos, Yannis, 1909–90, Greek poet. One of modern Greece's most widely translated poets, Ritsos moved from an early concern with classical themes and style to a more deeply personal lyricism. His writing reflects family tragedies, a stay in a tuberculosis ward, and his political engagement against dictatorship that earned him periods of deportation and house arrest.

Bibliography

See selected poems, tr. by E. Keeley (1985; 1991).

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Ritsos, Yannis

(born May 1, 1909, Monemvasia, Greece—died Nov. 11, 1990, Athens) Greek poet. He joined the Greek Communist Party in 1934, the year his first collection of poems, Tractors, appeared. It and a second collection mixed socialist philosophy with images of his personal suffering. His third collection, Funeral Procession (1936), provided the words for the anthem of the Greek Left. He fought as a communist during the Nazi occupation and Greek civil war, and he spent four years in prison camps. Arrested and exiled in 1967, he was prohibited from publishing until 1972. Despite those obstacles, he wrote a total of 117 books, including plays and essays.