Born in Limassol, Cyprus 1948. Studied sociology in West Berlin from 1965-70. Worked for ten years as dramaturg at the State Theatre of Cyprus. From 1980-2007 she was directing KOCHLIAS BOOKSHOP in Nicosia.

She has published books of prose, poetry and children’s fairy tales and won state prizes for her literary work. In 1998 she wan in Alexandria the Cavafy prize for poetry. She is a member of the Hellenic Authors Society and the Cyprus Writers Assosiation. In 2006 she received the poetry award from the Athens Academy for her book DIVAN. In May 2008 her book THE DEMON OF LUST was chosen by DIAVAZO REWARDS in Athens as among the ten best short stories of the year. In 2004 her poem “Roses” was chosen to be hung in waiting rooms in NHS Hospitals in the UK. Her poems are included in the “European constitution in verse” of the Brussels Poetry Collective (2009) and in the cd «Nachrichten von der Poesie» (Random House) edited by Joachim Sartorius.

She had seven exhibitions of her work in painting. She lives in Nicosia and has a daughter who is a painter.

PUBLICATIONS

Poetry

• From the garden, Agra ed. Athens 1981, State praise for poetry
• Beginning of indiction, Nicosia, 1987 , State prize for poetry
• Selections from the Divan, Nicosia, 2001
• DIVAN, Athens 2005, Prize for poetry 2006 from the Academy of Athens
• FOR A FAINT IDEA, poems private publication, 2008

Prose

• A layer of sand, Kastaniotis ed. Athens 1990, State prize for prose
• Fairytales of Cyprus, Armos ed. Athens 1994
• Is the panther alive, Kastaniotis ed. Athens 1998, State prize for prose
• Recipes for Katerina, Nicosia 2000
• Und sie feierten Hochzeit, Romiosini Verlag, Cologne, Germany 2000
• CD Tales from Cyprus, 1999
• Seven Tales from Cyprus, 2003
• Doctor from Vienna, 2003, Rodakio Athens, 2003
• Doktor ot Bneha, Foundation of Bulgarian Literature, Sofia 2005
• From Famagusta to Vienna, Athens 2005
• Din Famagusta la Vienna, Editura Meronia, Bucureşti 2005
• The Gobler and the King, Taxideftis ed, Athens, 2005
• The boy and the goblet, Taxideftis ed, Athens, 2006
• Nicossienses (with photographer Arunas Baltenas), Vilnius, Lithuania, 2006
• A night with Alexis (photos and text about the painter Alexis Akrithakis), 20087, Athens
• The daemon of lust, short stories, Athens Melani publ. 2007
• Von Famagusta nach Wien, Die Geschicte eines Artztes aus Zypern, Kitap Pub. Klagenfurt, Austria 2007.
• An Arabic translation of “Doctor from Vienna” will appear shortly by Rimal Publ. Beirut.
• From Famagusta to Vienna, Arabic edition from Rimal Publications, Beirut 2010
• From Famagusta to Vienna, Eloquent books, USA 2010
• GEZOUL, Estia Publications, Athens 2010
• 18 Narratives, Rodakio, Athens 2012

Translations

• Joachim Sartorius “Alexandria” with drawings by Anna Boghiguian, Rodakio Publ. Athens 1999

ART EXHIBITIONS IN CYPRUS

• 1975 Makarios III Gallery, opening by Adamantios Diamantis
• 1982 Kochlias Gallery, opening by G.P. Savides
• 1987 Gloria Gallery, together with painter Andreas Karayan.
• 1990 Gloria Gallery
• 1990 Odos Athinon Gallery, Limassol.
• 1991 Aby Feisal, Nicosia
• 1996 Gloria Gallery
• 2012 Aeschylou 83

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS

• 1993 Biennale of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana
• 1996 Sixth Biennale of Cairo

I suppose that one of the most interesting things on me curriculum vitae is that my mother comes from Macedonia, North Greece and my father from Famagusta. This gave me a wide view of the Greek World as I grew up at its eastern point. We have been lucky as a generation to witness extremes. High technology and my grandmother weaving, gypsies with dancing bears and computers.

Six years in Berlin confused me enough. I needed the torpid summer noons of Nicosia to remind me again who I was.

I did various jobs, taught pottery to blind children, worked for the theatre, run a bookshop. The central point in my life has always been the passion with language, with the Greek language in all its forms, contemporary, ancient, Byzantine. I like to play with the language. This is why I opened a bookshop, so I could have all the books I wanted. This is why I sink in books, I go back to University, searching for words, looking for new games. I use words like colours to illustrate images. Some come from afar.