Andreas Kalvos

Andreas Kalvos was a Greek poet who brought an Italian Neoclassical influence to the Ionian school of poets (the school of Romantics from the seven Ionian islands). He was a contemporary of the poets Ugo Foscolo and Dionysios Solomos. He was among the representatives of the Heptanese School of literature. No portrait of him is known to exist. He is featured prominently in the Museum of Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians. Kalvos was born in April 1792 on the island of Zakynthos (then ruled by the Venetian Republic), the elder of the two sons of Ioannes Kalvos and Andriane Roukani. His mother came from an established, landowning family. His younger brother, Nikolaos, was born in 1794. In 1802, when Andreas was ten years old, his father took him and Nikolaos, but not his wife, to Livorno (Leghorn) in Italy, where his brother was consul for the Ionian Islands and where there was a Greek community. The two boys never saw their mother again. In 1805 Kalvos's mother obtained a divorce on the grounds of desertion; and shortly afterwards remarried. In Livorno, Andreas first studied ancient Greek and Latin literature and history. In Livorno in 1811 he wrote his Italian Hymn to Napoleon, an anti-war poem that he later repudiated (this is how we know of its existence, as the poem itself was not saved). Around the same time he lived for a few months in Pisa, where he worked as a secretary; and then moved to Florence, a centre of intellectual and artistic life of the time. In 1812 his father died, and Kalvos's finances became deeply strained. However, during that year he also met Ugo Foscolo, the most honoured Italian poet and scholar of the era, and, like Kalvos, a native of Zakynthos. Foscolo gave Kalvos a post as his copyist, and put him to teaching a protégé of his. Under the influence of Foscolo Kalvos took up neoclassicism, archaizing ideals, and political liberalism. In 1813 Kalvos wrote three tragedies in Italian: Theramenes, Danaïdes and Hippias. He also completed four dramatic monologues, in the neoclassical style. At the end of 1813, because of his 'advanced' views, Foscolo withdrew to Zurich in Switzerland. Kalvos remained in Florence, where he again became a teacher. In 1814 he wrote another Italian ode, 'To the Ionians', expressing his sympathy with the plight of his fellow-countrymen, and at this period made a close study of the works of Rousseau. He also, it seems, embarked on a love affair with a woman. In 1816 Kalvos broke off his affair and went to join Foscolo in Switzerland. That year he also learned that his mother had died a year before, a thing that saddened him deeply, as can be seen in his Ode to Death. By the end of 1816 the two poets travelled together to Britain, and continued their association in London until February 1817, when for an unknown reason they quarrelled and separated. Kalvos remained in London until 1820, when he married Charlotte Millingen, the daughter of a British archaeologist and diplomat. He also wrote his first Greek ode, Elpis Patridos (Hope of a Homeland), which was published in 1819. In 1820, he moved to Geneva, where he joined the Carbonari, a secret revolutionary society that aimed to overthrow the conservative European order. He also wrote twenty odes in Greek, inspired by the Greek War of Independence, which he published in two collections: Lyra (1824) and Lyrica (1826). These odes are considered his masterpiece, as they combine classical and modern elements, patriotic and personal themes, and lyrical and dramatic tones. They also reflect his admiration for ancient Greek culture and his disillusionment with the contemporary political situation. Kalvos is regarded as one of the greatest Greek poets of the 19th century, along with Solomos, who praised his work and considered him a friend. In 1826, Kalvos decided to visit Greece, hoping to participate in the struggle for independence. However, he was disappointed by the reality he encountered, and soon left for Corfu, where he became a professor of philosophy at the Ionian Academy. He also worked as a tutor for wealthy families, a director of the Corfu Lyceum, and a journalist for local newspapers. He maintained his interest in politics and culture, and wrote articles on various topics, such as education, history, literature, and art. He also translated some of his Italian works into Greek, and wrote a few more poems, but none of them matched the quality of his earlier odes. In 1852, Kalvos retired from his academic and public activities, and moved with his wife to Louth, England, where they lived a quiet and secluded life. He died of pneumonia on 3 November 1869, and was buried in the graveyard of St Margaret's church, Keddington, near Louth. His widow died in 1888. In June 1960, the poet George Seferis, who at that time was the Greek ambassador to Britain, arranged for Kalvos's remains to be transferred to Zakynthos, where they rest in the church of St Nicolas, along with those of Solomos.