Sophia I. Fildisis-Children's books author, Poet, Lyricist
Sofia Fildisis was born on May 11, 1937, in the small village of Vanada in the mountainous area of Trifylia. She learned her first letters at Kyparissia Primary School and later studied on a scholarship at the American College of Athens. She has been writing since childhood, and her first book, a collection of poems, was published in 1974. Her book "Saint Basil the Seaman" was released and reprinted in the same year. She returned to Messenia in 1981 and lived in Kalamata since then.
Sofia Fildisis wrote over 30 books for children and teenagers, short stories, poems and lyrics set to music by Mimis Plessas and sung by Dimitra Galanis and Yiannis Poulopoulos. A book of hers was transferred to the small screen by state television, while her short stories have been played in the cinema ("St.Vasilis the Seaman", "The Scarecrow"). Also, in 2004, she received the State Prize for Children's Literature for her book "Poems for Children".
In addition to her rich writing work, Sofia Fildisis also developed an intense social and political activity in Kalamata, where she wrote for the local newspaper "MACHI" (the "Postscripts") and the magazine "Flash" of Messenia. She collaborated with the ERA of Kalamata and was vice president of the Municipal Regional Theatre of the city (DI.PE.THE) in the first years of its creation. She also created the radio station "Antiradio", where she worked as a producer of daily shows.
In her last years, she collaborated with the Bougas Schools (Kalamata) in the Literature Group, lovingly guiding young students along the "paths" of art and speech. Sofia Fildisis passed away in Kalamata on April 27, 2011, at 74. Since then, to honour the memory of the Messenian writer, the Bougas Schools has been organising the Panhellenic Student Literature Competition "Sofia Fildisis - The Tree of Wisdom".