Prominent prose writer, short story writer, screenwriter and former president of the Academy of Athens Thanasis Valtinos has died at the age of 92.
Thanasis Valtinos: The Course of His Life
Thanasis Valtinos, whose real surname is Spanos, was born in 1932 in the settlement “Two Garadolas”.
During the years of occupation and civil war, he traveled with his family to various cities in Greece, while he attended the gymnasiums of Sparta, Gideon, and Tripoli.
In 1950 he settled in Athens, where he lived until the end of his life.
Regarding his studies in the capital, he attended courses at Pantheon’s Department of Political Science, the School of Philosophy and the Film School of the University of Athens.
After the colonial period, he traveled to England, West Berlin – at the invitation of the German Academic Exchange Service – and the United States.
He made his literary debut in 1958 when his short story “Kadakalogiro” was awarded in the Tachidromos magazine competition.
Five years later, in 1963, he was introduced to Greek letters after publishing the short story “Descent of the Nine” in “Episodes” magazine. This work was also published in German translation in 1976.
Thanasis Valtinos dabbled in short story writing and translation of works of ancient Greek literature, while he was also a collaborator of Carolus Cohn’s Theater of Art.
In 1990, Valtinos received the State Prize for Fiction for his work “Evidence for the 60s”.
He has been honored with the Petrus Charis Foundation Award of the Academy of Athens, the International Cavafy Award and the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic.