Maria Pyliotou
Cyprus
Maria Pyliotou was born in 1935 in the village of Lefkoniko and experienced the poverty and misfortune of World War II. As a child, she longed to have a doll, but no one could afford her such a luxury. When she was seven, she used rags, thread and buttons to make her own doll, which she treasures to this day. At school she excelled in the things she loved: painting, gymnastics and music. Due to the lack of lending libraries near her village, her first contact with fairy tales was made through her storyteller grandfather: the best library of my childhood.
From 1957 to 1995 she worked as a teacher and head teacher in various elementary schools in Cyprus. In 1983 her lyrics for the “Song of Joy”, music by Giorgos Marcou, was awarded the UNICEF prize and was released as a record for the International Children’s Year.
She has been writing award- winning books for children and youth since 1976, most of which have been published by the most important Greek publishing houses (Patakis, Kastaniotis, Psychogios) with notable success. Some of those books have been translated to Ukrainian, French, Russian and English.
Her books touch on a variety of subjects such as friendship, love, solidarity, peace, acceptance of diversity, joy for life, imagination, dreams and hopes.
Even though she has retired from teaching she is often invited to elementary schools, especially in the rural areas, to talk to children, parents and teachers about literature, suggesting ways to cultivate a child’s love for reading. Keeping in touch with children is for her a way of life and a source ceaseless inspiration, renewal and creativity.
A modest person, despite her wide reputation in Cyprus, Maria Pyliotou is always careful not to succumb to literary didacticism, thus choosing to give her books a non- conclusive ending, preferring to allow the child- reader to use his/ her imagination to finish the story. A good listener, an avid reader, a mother of two daughters (of whom Theodora has illustrated seven of her books) and a grandmother, Maria has build her life on a philosophy that every question is open to multiple answers and every issue can take on numerous truths. What is important for her is respect for each other’s opinion, as this is the most precious ingredient of a healthy society, a true democracy. It is in this spirit that she writes her books and lives her life.
