Voice of Greece—ERT’s international radio service dedicated to Greek speakers around the world and to the promotion of the Greek language and culture—continues its beloved poetry segments “Poet of the Week.” Each week spotlights a contemporary Greek poet, including voices from the Greek diaspora. The poets themselves curate and perform their own work for radio, with each piece set to music by acclaimed composers.
The week 19-25 May 2025 is dedicated to Stathis Koutsounis.
Stathis Koutsounis was born in Nea Figalia, Olympia. He studied law, philology, and classical music. He currently lives and works in Athens. For many years, he taught at the I.M. Panagiotopoulos School, where he also served as the director of the high school division.
He has published the following poetry collections: Studies for Voice and Poetry (Hyakinthos, 1987), Harvest of Blood (Smili, 1991), Variations of Black (Delfini, 1998), The Terrorism of Beauty (Metaixmio, 2004), Insects in Intensive Care (Metaixmio, 2008) — nominated for the Poetry Award of Diavazo magazine — Snapshots of the Body (Metaixmio, 2014), In Nobody’s Land (Metaixmio, 2020) — nominated for the Jean Moréas Poetry Award — and Rose in a Mirror (Metaixmio, 2024) — nominated for the Poetry Award of Chartis magazine.
In addition to poetry, he publishes short stories, critical essays, studies, articles, and book reviews.
In 2021, his monograph on Alexandros Isaris was released, followed by the 2022 volume Before an Alien Doorknob: Critical Visits and Other Texts (1989–2020), which compiles a range of his critical and essayistic writings. His poems and prose have been included in numerous anthologies and translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Arabic, and Persian. He is a member of the Society of Writers, the Circle of Poets, and the Panhellenic Association of Philologists.
Music direction: Maria Reboutsika
Sound editing: Eleftheria Papoutsaki – Ermioni Katsigianni
Broadcast schedule: Monday to Friday at 07:00 and 19:00 Athens time, and weekends at 19:00 Athens time.
