CAMPUS POETRY AS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL POETRY: THE LIFE OF AN ACADEMIC THROUGH KOTOPOULOS’ POETRY
Études balkaniques (Sofia) 2025, N 4, pp. 981-1021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.62761/645.EB.LXI4.07
Dimos CHLOPTSIOUDIS 
University of Western Macedonia – Florina, Greece
Triantafyllos H. KOTOPOULOS
University of Western Macedonia – Florina, Greece
Abstract: This paper examines campus poetry as an autobiographical subgenre, focusing on the portrayal of the academic environment as a catalyst for personal and intellectual growth. Through the lens of Triantafyllos Kotopoulos’ poetry, the article examines the dual identity of academics as both poets and scholars, emphasizing the use of formal academic language to highlight the issue of dual identity. His poetry reveals the close relationship between campus poetry and autobiographical poetry, offering glimpses into the lives of academic teachers and their critiques of the university establishment and their relationships with colleagues, senior academics, relatives, and family. The article also delves into Kotopoulos’ experimental aesthetic choices.
Keywords: campus poetry, life-writing, autobiographical poetry, contemporary Greek poetry, literary theory