Kantaris, Sylvia

Sylvia Kantaris was born Sylvia Mosely in Derbyshire in 1936. She was first published as a school girl in 1952. Kantaris studied French at Bristol University, and achieved a post-graduate Certificate in Education, during which time she was told she had no talent in poetry. Despite this, she wrote poetry whilst she worked as a teacher - first in Bristol and London, then in Australia, where she moved in 1962, with her husband, Emmanuel Kantarizis, a Greek born in Egypt, by whom she had two children in 1965 and 1967. Whilst in Australia, she wrote her MA and PhD theses in French surrealism, and also wrote reviews and articles for newspapers and magazines, as well as poetry. 'Time and Motion' was published in 1975 in Australia, at the same time as Kantaris moved back to England, specifically Helston, Cornwall. From there, she continued to work as a tutor through the Open University and the University of Exeter's Extra-Mural department, whilst also publishing many literary articles and several collections of poetry (seven collections in total, between 1975 and 1993, many of which were published internationally). In 1986, she was appointed Cornwall's first Writer in the Community, and in 1989 she received an honorary DLitt from the University of Exeter.

From the guide to the Literary papers of Sylvia Kantaris, late 20th century, (Special Collections Archives, University of Exeter (GB0029))