Costas Taktsis
Biography
Costas Taktsis was born in 1927 in Thessaloniki.
His parents were from Eastern Rumelia, now part of Bulgaria. He had an older brother who died a few days after he was born. His parents separated and he went to live with his grandmother in Athens. He applied to the Merchant Marine School, but caught typhoid and had to abandon the idea. He later studied law at the University of Athens but for only two years. He worked on the Louros dam project. He tavelled around, working as an assistant director and writing before heading off for Australia, working at various jobs before returning to Greece and travelling around Europe on a Vespa. He continued his travels, all the while working on Το τρίτο στεφάνι (The Third Wedding). During the Dictatorship, he fought against the authorities and for gay rights (he was gay). He was found strangled by his sister in 1988. It is still not known who killed him. His only novel has been published in English. He also wrote many poems and translated works from Ancient Greek, French and English.