Writer, Poet, Musician and Performing artist
Academic, musician, creative writer and performing artist Maria Kouvarou grew up with two major loves: music and literature. The former became her main learning interest, which she followed through music schools and universities in Cyprus, Greece and the UK. After acquiring her first degree in Music Studies at Ionian University, she moved to Durham where she completed her MA (by Research) in Aesthetics of Music, and her PhD in Aesthetics of Music.
Her research interests, currently focused on the contemporary popular music scene of the Republic of Cyprus, are grounded in sociology, while philosophy and critical theory are featured heavily in her academic and artistic thought.
During her years of study, Maria remained active as a performer, songwriter and creative writer, mostly of poetry. She has published two poetry collections (2017, 2018) a novella (2019), and a number of short stories and poems in various anthologies. Her work has been recognised at literary competitions.
Aside from writing quietly at her house, Maria performs regularly at various spoken word events. Major cornerstones of this are: “Win(d)er Tales”, a long poem written for and performed with Sistema Cyprus-Larnaca (17 December 2022) and “Taking back the booty”, a multi-media stage work by Collectiva Inanna (of which she is one of the four members) inaugurated at Buffer Fringe Festival (2020).
Maria also stages solo performances, using sound scaping and looping to create universes where words can resonate as music components (e.g.“Υπάρχω;/Do I exist?” as part of The Present Writer Events by Keno Publications, 4/10/2023).
