The Modern Novel

Biography

Aris Alexandrou was born in 1922 in Leningrad to a Greek father (Vasilis Vasiliadis) and a Russian mother (Polina Antovna. Vilgelmson). The family moved to Greece in 1928, first to Thessalonki and then to Athens. At his father’s behest, he went to the Athens University of Economics and Business. but dropped out to take up translation . As Greece was now under German occupation, he joined a resistance group but dropped out when it became part of a larger Communist group. Nevertheless when the British took over, he was arrested and sent to a camp. He was released in 1945 but rearrested when he refused to disavow his beliefs and sent to a camp. He was later court-martialled for draft-dodging. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and served six years. He married and the couple moved to Paris where he lived till he died in 1979, shortly after his only novel was published in French. He wrote many poems and one novel, about the Greek Civil War, which has been translated into English.

He also translated numerous works from English, French and Russian into Greek, including Eugene O’Neill, D H. Lawrence, Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky,Guy de MaupassantBalzac and many others.

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Aris Alexandrou