Cyprus Mail
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Leonidas Malenis: famous writer and journalist dies

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Writer, poet, journalist and actor Leonidas Malenis, best known for his poem that later became a song ‘Chrysoprasino Fyllo’, died at age 85 on Monday.

Malenis was born in 1937 in Nicosia. He graduated from the Pancyprian Gymnasium in 1955. After studying public relations in the US, he returned to Cyprus and entered journalism. He initially worked at the newspaper ‘Ethnos’.

Between 1957 and 1961 he worked as editor and editor-in-chief at the Times of Cyprus newspaper. In 1961 he was hired as an educational assistant in the press office of the US embassy in Nicosia. In 1962 he went to the United States, where he attended special courses and then returned to Cyprus where he continued his work at the American embassy, at the American Centre in Nicosia (cultural institution of the embassy). Between 1969 and 1971 he worked as a director of a film import company.

In 1960, he also began a long and varied collaboration with the state broadcaster CyBC, as a radio and television presenter, as an actor on radio programmes, as a scriptwriter, and as a lyricist, translator of plays, etc.

This collaboration lasted until 1998, when Malenis started working with the television and radio of the private station Antenna.

In his spare time, he wrote poems, short stories, plays, a book and theatre reviews.

His poem, the well-known ‘Chrysoprasino Fyllo’ (The Golden-Green Leaf) was set to music by Mikis Theodorakis.

His other poems have also been set to music by George Kotsonis, George Theofanous and other Cypriot composers.

Leonidas Malenis published the collection ‘Five Short Stories’ (with his own illustrations) in 1958. In 1962 he published, together with Panos Ioannides, the book Cyprus Highlights, which contained short stories, poems, essays, dramatic works and art.

He also wrote articles under the pseudonym L Karayiannis and review numbers under the pseudonym Alkis Marinos.

He has been included in several anthologies and written several plays that have been staged by several theatre groups in Cyprus.

Upon hearing of the news of his death, CyBC expressed their condolences.

“His death leaves an irredeemable void in the areas of culture, journalism, and radio and television,” their announcement said.

Former director general of CyBC Michalis Maratheftis shared the news and gave his condolences to Malenis’ daughters Marina and Lea.

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