THomas Korovinis

Thomas Korovinis was born in 1953 in Nea Michaniona, Thessaloniki. He is a philologist in secondary education. From 1988 to 1996, he lived in Istanbul, serving at the Zappeion and the Central Girls' School. For years, he has been researching aspects of Greek and Turkish folk culture and their interrelations. He collaborates with various literary magazines. From 1995 to 1999, he worked as a producer and editor of radio programs on 9.58 FM in Thessaloniki. He has authored books such as "Turkish Proverbs," "Canal d'Amour," "The Faces of Sotiria Bellou," "Fahise Tsika," "Scandalous and Obscene Greek Proverbs," "Istanbul, Literary Anthology: Turkish Poets Praise Istanbul," "Markos in the Harem," "The Plague of Ano Toumba," "The Ashiks," "The Zeybeks of Asia Minor," "Beautiful Night," "Smyrna: A City in Literature," "The Death Tour," "The Angel's Call," and more. In 1995, he was awarded the Abdi İpekçi Prize. In 2011, he received the State Novel Award for his book "The Death Tour," which revolves around the case of "The Dragon of Seich-Sou," Aristidis Pagkratidis. He is a member of the Society of Authors. He is also a composer, lyricist, and performer of folk songs. He has collaborated with the bands "Bosporus," "En Chordais," and "Loxandra." In 2002, he co-founded the traditional Greek and Turkish music band "Anatolitikos Sevdas" with Turkish singer Dilek Koç. His discography (composition-performance) includes "From Ebony and Agate," "Fuzuli: Leyla and Mecnun," "Takimia," "The Cell," and contributions as a lyricist to albums by Nikos Papazoglou, Lizeta Kalimeri, Christos Tsiamoulis, Voula Savvidi, Eleni Vitali, Dimitris Kontogiannis, and others. He frequently presents concerts with his own repertoire or themes from rebetiko and folk songs. Since 2009, at the beginning of summer, he organizes a nationwide meeting of authors and readers of modern Greek literature at his estate in Lechonia, Pelion, with the participation of musical ensembles.