Talented Greek poet and translator Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke passes away

Talented and highly respected Greek poet and translator Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81.

Born in Athens in 1939, Anghelaki-Rooke received grants from the Ford Foundation in 1972 and 1975. She studied at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. She was a Fulbright Visiting Lecturer in the United States from 1980 to 1981. Katerina taught at Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Utah, and San Francisco State University.

The talented writer won the Greek National Prize for Poetry in 1985 and 2012. She was also a panellist at the Prague Writers’ Festival in 2004 and 2008. 

Having obtained a degree from the School of Translators and Interpreters, she worked as a professional translator from English, Russian and French into Greek.

Anghelaki-Rooke was the goddaughter of Nikos Kazantzakis and spoke fluent French, English, and Russian, besides her native Greek.

Greece’s Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni expressed her condolences to the family and in her message, the Minister said Katerina’s poems “were translated into more than ten languages. She was loved by readers of different generations and honored by her fellow-poets.”

Mendoni also requested of the government that the funeral service expenses be assumed by the state. Anghelaki-Rooke will be buried on Aegina island, next to her husband Rodney Rooke, the Minister said.