The poet, journalist and publisher Dina Pagiassi - Katsouri, wife of the great writer and scholar Giannis Katsouris and one of the most dynamic presences in the Cypriot intellectual field, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 80.
A fighter in the political, social and literary arena, she was distinguished for her poetic and literary work. Since 2001 she has been publishing the quarterly magazine of speech, art and reflection "Anev", giving rise to many young writers.
Dina Katsouri was born in Famagusta in 1941. She studied journalism and public relations in Athens, where she worked until 1962. Upon her return to Cyprus, she collaborated with many newspapers and magazines. From 1966-1968 she worked as a Press Officer in the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus. From 1969 until 2000 she worked at the CYBC and was a ministrant of cultural and youth programs.
In 1967 she married the great writer and scholar Giannis Katsouris, with whom they had a son. Giannis Katsouris passed away in 2010.
In 1975, Dina Katsouri was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Despite the severe mobility problems she was facing, she was always at the forefront of cultural action, she was an active intellectual figure with a relentless humanitarian and social contribution, and regularly attended theatrical performances.
* Dina Katsouri's funeral will be held on Friday, May 21 at 4 p.m. at the church of Apostolos Andreas in Platy (Kyrineias Street).
Since 1964 she has published 10 personal poetry collections and a collection of short stories. She was awarded the State Poetry Prize for her poetry collections "Memoirs" (1978), "Contradictions" (1987) and "Aphrodite and Adonis" (2006). She translated into Greek two books on prose. Her poems have been translated into English, German, Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Russian and Dutch.
In 2013 she was awarded the University of Cyprus Award for her contribution to Society and Culture. In the same year she received the "George Filippou Pieridis" award from the Cyprus Writers' Union.
Poetic collections (1964) Ποιήματα. Λευκωσία: Τυπογραφεία Γέκα.
(1966) Σύνθεσις. Λευκωσία: Βιβλιοθήκη Κυπριακών Χρονικών.
(1969) Ο Ηγεμόνας. Αθήνα: Ιωλκός.
(1978) Υπομνήματα. Λευκωσία: Τυπογραφεία Θεοπρές.
(1987) Αντι-Θέσεις. Αθήνα: Εκδόσεις Θεμέλιο.
(1996) Μ' ακουουούς. Λευκωσία: Ωρίων.
(2006) Της Αφροδίτης και του Άδωνη. Λευκωσία. ΑΝΕΥ.
(2011) Πενήντα παρά μία ανατροπές. Λευκωσία: ΑΝΕΥ.
(2013) Τα ποδοσφαιρικά. Λευκωσία: ΑΝΕΥ.
(2017) Το παγκάκι. Λευκωσία: ΑΝΕΥ.
Collection of stories
(2001) Μεταξύ Θεού και Αγγέλου. Αθήνα: Εκδοτικός Οίκος Α.Α.Λιβάνη.
Translations
(1979) Αφρικανοί πεζογράφοι. Αθήνα: Θεμέλιο.
(1983) Σύγχρονοι Παλαιστίνιοι πεζογράφοι. Αθήνα: Θεμέλιο.
Other writing works
Katsouri, D. (1998) Prose et poésie, Besançon: Praxandre. (συγκεντρωτική έκδοση ποιημάτων και πεζών στα γαλλικά και ελληνικά).