Maria Polydouri (1902-1930): the Greek poète maudit who died of tuberculosis

Abstract

Maria Polydouri was a notable Greek poet. Often likened to the French poètes maudits, her poetry reflected a lyrical charisma and her unsettled life an untimely ending. The passing of both her parents within less than two months when she was aged 18 and her incomplete, desperate affair with the syphilitic poet Kostas Karyotakis, defined her existence. She took up many uncompleted occupations and remained socially committed. It seems that in 1923 she caught tuberculosis that was diagnosed ultimately in 1927 and led to her hospitalization at first in Paris and later in Athens. A progressive and restless spirit until the end, she wrote her best poems while in hospital. Polydouri's final years and death received national attention and marked her out as a Greek literary legend.

Keywords: Aristotelis Georgiou; Greece; Kostas Karyotakis; Maria Polydouri; Yannis Ritsos; syphilis; tuberculosis.