Maria Topali was born in 1964 in Thessaloniki.
She studied Law at the University of Athens, Greece and at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (fellow Daimler-Benz Foundation, Ph.D). Since 1996 she writes poetry reviews for the poetry journal Poiisi (Poetry) and the journal that has succeeded it, Poiitiki (Poetics). She also writes literary criticism for the daily paper Kathimerini [Sunday edition].
From 2006 to 2008 she taught the seminar of Poetry Translation at EKEMEL (European Translation Centre of Literature and the Humanities). In 2007/2008 she gave a course on “Poetics and Space” at the University of Thessaly, Department of Architecture.

Her first book of poetry, Tea Set, appeared in 1999 and her second, London and other poems, in 2006. London and other poems was warmly received by the critics and it was short-listed for the poetry award of the literary magazine Diavazo. She has since then published the books, Vermion, Descent (subtitle, poem) (2010, Patakis ed.), a theatrical musical The dance of the middle class (Okto, 2012) and also a book in co-written with Konsatntine Matsoukas titled For four hands (Gavriilidis, 2013). Her poems have been translated into German and Italian. She has translated prose and poetry from German into Greek, including selected poems by Brecht, Huchel, Lasker-Schüler and the Duineser Elegien by Rainer Maria Rilke ( published by Patakis ed. In 2011). She has also translated works of Jacob Burckhardt, Jürgen Habermas, Hans Magnus Enzensberger and Max Frisch. She is married and has two daughters. She lives in Athens and is working at the National Centre for Social Research.

In relation to M.T.’s work critics have noted:

“…of an intricately constructed poetic game which has already born mature fruit, while presenting us with a wealth of well-omened prospects for the future.”
(Vangelis Chatzivasileiou, Poiisis magazine, no. 28)

“…the feminist yearning on the part of the poet – a yearning which does not preclude humor…” (Andreas Belezinis, Eleftherotypia)

“…of a poetry avidly feminist and babel-like. Topali’s leaning towards contemporary feminism – a feminism which presupposes Lacan and Foucault, to mention its outermost boundaries – is amply evident and unapologetic. Both in her poetry and in her critical texts…” (Andreas Belezinis, Kathimerini)