Dimitris P. Papaditsas was born in
Samos, in 1922, son of an army officer. He studied medicine at the
University of Athens, graduating in 1958. He continued with his studies, focusing in
orthopedics, in
Munich. Between 1943 and 1947 he worked for the
Red Cross, and between 1951 and 1967 he was physician and orthopedic surgeon in several hospitals in Athens and other provincial Greek cities. In 1976, he moved to
Athens and became director of the National Greek Institute of Rehabilitation. He was founder of the
Primal Matter (
Πρώτη Ύλη), 1958–1959, along with
Epameinondas Ch. Gonatas, and collaborated in other literary magazines such as
Youth Voice (
Νεανική Φωνή),
New Hestia (
Νέα Εστία),
The Target (
Ο Στόχος), among others. During the
Axis occupation of Greece during World War II, he participated in the regular meetings hosted by
Andreas Embirikos and his wife
Matsi Hatzilazarou hold in their house along with
Nikos Engonopoulos,
Odysseas Elytis,
Nikos Gatsos,
Miltos Sachtouris, Epameinondas Ch. Gonatas,
Ektor Kaknavatos,
Nanos Valaoritis,
Yorgos V. Makris, among other writers. Being close to Epameinondas Ch. Gonatas and Ektor Kaknavatos, he cultivated the vein of a lyrical
surrealism, which after his first two books became increasingly mild, whereas his work assumed explicitly
metaphysical overtones from then on. Papaditsas died in Athens. ==References==