National Poetry Month
Today, we’re turning National Poetry Month into Greek-American Poetry Month! Keep reading to meet some Greek-American poets.
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Nicholas Alexiou
Nicholas earned a degree in economics in his native Volos, Greece, then earned his MA and PhD in sociology at Queens College. He has taught in the Department of Sociology at Queens College since 1990. His fields of interest are social and political sociology and ethnic studies. He is a recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Nicholas is also the founder of Hellenic American Project, which operates as a research facility, archive, Greek American Library, museum, and event space.
To date, he’s published six poetry books. Nicholas’ poems have been published in Greek and American journals and anthologies. Read my review of his bilingual collection, The Silver Sphinx (Melani Press Greece, 2018).
Patty Apostolides
Patty is an author, poet, musician, and academic. She earned a degree in Biology from
Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, where she also pursued minors in music and theater. For nearly 20 years, Patty worked in cancer research and healthcare, making significant contributions to the advancement of medical knowledge. Then, Patty returned to school, earning an MFA in Creative Writing from National University in California and ultimately a PhD in Leadership, specializing in English, from the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky. Since 2022, she is an adjunct professor in the English department at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky. She is the founder and former director of the Hellenic Writers Group of Washington, DC. She’s also a musician and songwriter.
Patty’s poetry has been published in Pensworth, Pen In Hand, Move Me Poetry, New Creation, Mediterranean Poetry, Hedge Apple, and Coffee Times. Additionally, she has authored several novels, plus a poetry book called Candlelit Journey: Poetry from the Heart (iUniverse, 2006). Check out her books here.
Elena Belias
Born in Manhattan to Greek and Puerto Rican parents. Elena began writing in sixth grade. A teacher encouraged her to write poetry. She wrote her first poem in 1983.
To date, she’s published three poetry collections, including The Wonder’s Of Life: The Wonder’s Of Life (independently published, 2019); Life’s Unexpected Ways (independently published, 2019); and Many Ways of Love (Xlibris, 2017). Check them out here.
Diane Helentjaris
Born in Dayton, OH, Diane earned a BA cum laude in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Michigan State University. She studied science in Montreal at McGill University before returning to Michigan to earn her MD. Diane also holds a Master’s in Public Health with an emphasis on health policy and administration from University of Michigan.
A physician, she’s held leadership positions in various medical organizations. As a health advocate, she has testified to the FDA and represented her groups at White House and Congressional hearings. For a time, she served as a public health administrator for the Virginia Department of Health.
Diane has published short stories and poems in anthologies and published many nonfiction articles. She was a finalist in the 2020 Icelandic Writers Retreat Alumni Award. She’s published a historical novel, a short story collection, and an autobiography of Wild West performer Lulu Bell Parr. Her poetry collection, Diaspora (independently published), came out in 2021. Check out her books here.
George Kalogeris
George received his master’s degree in creative writing from Boston University, then completed his Ph.D. studies in comparative literature at the University Professors Program, Boston University. His doctoral thesis was entitled “Folk Songs and Foreign Influences in Modern Greek Poetry: The Growth of the Demotic Tradition.” Currently, his teaches English Literature and Classics in Translation at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.
His poems have appeared in Agni, Harvard Review, and Ploughshares. The poem, “Horace in Athens,” translated from Cavafy, appears Horace in English (Penguin, 1996).
He’s published three poetry collections, including Winthropos: Poems (LSU Press, 2021); Guide to Greece (LSU, 2018); Dialogos, Paired Poems in Translation (Antilever Press, 2012) and Camus: Carnets, a book of poems based on the notebooks of Albert Camus, (Pressed Wafer, 2006). Check them out here.
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Karian Markos
A Chicago-based Greek-American poet, writer, and nonprofit attorney, Karian’s work has been published in Living Crue Magazine, Prairie Light Review, Highland Park Poetry, Beyond Words Literary Magazine, Bombfire, and more. She’s currently working on a couple of novels.
Her debut poetry collection, Esemplastic: Many and One (Highland Park Poetry Press, 2024), is the winner of the Highland Park Poetry 2024 Prairie State Poetry Prize for a first or second book. Read my review here.
Anna Moschovakis
A poet, a translator, and an editor, Anna earned a BA from the University of California-Berkeley, an MFA from the Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts at Bard College, and an MA in comparative literature at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has received of grants and fellowships from New York Foundation for the Arts, The Poetry Fund, the Howard Foundation, and apexart. Anna has taught in the graduate writing programs at Bard, Pratt, and Columbia. She is a longtime member of the publishing collective Ugly Duckling Presse and a co-founder of Bushel, an art and community space in Delhi, NY.
She’s published several poetry collections, including the award-winning You and Three Others Are Approaching a Lake (Coffee House Press, 2011. She’s also published a novel, Eleanor, or, The Rejection of the Progress of Love (Coffee House Press, 2018) and numerous chapbooks. Check out her books here.
In addition to her own writing, she has translated poetry collections from French to English, including the translation 2022 Nobel Prize for Literature winner The Possession by Annie Ernaux.
Valerie Nifora
Valerie holds a BA in Communications from Emerson College and an MBA from Fordham University. For more than 20 years, she has worked as a Marketing Communications Leader for a Fortune 50 company. She’s also worked as a ghostwriter. This native New Yorker has published three novels, including a myth retelling, plus a book on personal branding.
Her romantic poetry collection, I Asked the Wind (Author Academy Elite, 2020), has garnered multiple awards, including old Award Winner from the Nonfiction Authors Association; Top 10 Finalist Global AEA Awards for Clean Romance, and Big NYC Book Awards Distinguished Finalist, all in 2020. See her books here.
Dean Petrakis
This writer, actor, and businessman’s last name may sound familiar. He’s the son of the late Harry Mark Petrakis, the eminent writer of some 24 books.
Dean shows his literary chops in his first poetry and prose collection, Sweeping Up Stardust (independently published, 2021). Read my review here.
Marigo J. Stathis
Marigo is a scientist, with degrees in Biochemistry and Cognitive Neuroscience from Vassar College and Johns Hopkins University, respectively. In the course of her work as a scientist, she does much technical writing (she has authored/co-authored approximately 50 peer-reviewed, published scientific articles), but found refuge in creative writing. Her poetry, flash nonfiction, essays, op-eds, song lyrics have appeared in national and international literary publications like 34th Parallel, Abbey, The Baltimore City Paper, The Baltimore Sun, Bear Creek Haiku, Facedown, FanStory, The Keeping Room, Lite Journal of Satire and Creativity, The Loch Raven Review, The Rush, The Sometimes and several anthologies (i.e., A Question of Balance, The National Library of Poetry, and Whispers). Read my interview with her here.
Her chapbook, Displaced Dolls and Oviducts (Finishing Line Press, 2023) is a collection of poetry that was written over the course of three decades. Check it out here.
10 Greek-American Poets
And there you have it! 10 Greek-American poets to transform National Poetry Month into Greek-American Poetry Month. Happy Reading!
Read more:
NEO MAGAZINE: Column: Mnemosyni’s Musings /NATIONAL POETRY MONTH: Meet Some Contemporary Greek Poets (April 2023)
WINDYCITY GREEK: National Poetry Month: Greek Poets – Lia Siomou (April 2017)
WINDYCITY GREEK: National Poetry Month: Greek-American Poets – Georgia Bellas (April 2016)
