Author Vangelis Raptopoulos at the Gennadius Library
About the novelist and his books Η υψηλή τέχνη της αποτυχίας and Η πιο κρυφή πληγή spoke: Alexis Panselinos, novelist, Vassilis Vassilikos, novelist and Alexis Ziras, literary critic. Vangelis Raptopoulos, born in 1959, is considered to be the pioneer of the “1980s generation.” He first published in 1979 (In Pieces or Κομματάκια) when he was only 20 years old, and established himself as one of Greece’s most promising authors. His next two publications Toll Gates or Διόδια (1982) and The Cicadas or Τα τζιτζίκια completed a trilogy-team portrait of his generation. The Cicadas also came out in English. To date Raptopoulos has published 24 books, including The Incredible Story of Pope Joan (2000), a medieval novel about the only woman in history that became a Pope [inspired by Emmanuel Rhoides’ Pope Joan (Πάπισσα Ιωάννα) written in 1866], My Own America or Η δική μου Αμερική (2002) writing about his “journey” to contemporary American pulp literature, and The Great Sand or Η μεγάλη άμμος (2007) a novel about Greece that is disappearing and changing. The Bachelor or Ο Εργένης (1993) was adapted for Greek cinema, and Toll Gates for television. His last two books are Η υψηλή τέχνη της αποτυχίας and Η πιο κρυφή πληγή. He has been characterized as “the most creative, the most passionate writer of his generation.” His archive, donated to the Gennadius Library in 2012, consist of first and second editions of the author’s books, manuscripts, critiques, newspaper clippings, and audio-visual material.