George Seferis
George Seferis, pseudonym of Giōrgios Stylianou Seferiadēs,
also spelled Yeoryios Stilianou Sepheriades (b. March 13,
1900, Smyrna, Anatolia, Ottoman Empire [now İzmir, Tur.]—d.
Sept. 20, 1971, Athens, Greece), Greek poet, essayist, and
diplomat who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1963.
After studying law in
Paris, Seferis joined the Greek diplomatic service and
served in London and Albania prior to World War II, during
which time he was in exile with the free Greek government.
Following the war he held posts in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,
and Iraq and served as Greek ambassador in London (1957–62).
Seferis was at once
acclaimed as “the poet of the future” on the publication of
Strofí (1931; “Turning Point”), his first collection of
poems. It was followed by I stérna (1932; “The Cistern”),
Mithistórima (1935; “Myth-History”), Imerolóyio
katastrómatos I (1940; “Log Book I”), Tetrádhio yimnasmáton
(1940; “Exercise Book”), Imerolóyio katastrómatos II (1945),
the long poem Kíkhli (1947; “Thrush”), Imerolóyio
katastrómatos III (1955), and Tría krifá poiímata (1966;
“Three Secret Poems”). Selections of his poetry have been
widely translated; the most comprehensive collection in
English translation is George Seferis: Complete Poems
(1995). Seferis also translated poetry into Greek and wrote
essays.
Seferis was the most
distinguished Greek poet of “the generation of the ’30s,”
which introduced symbolism to modern Greek literature. His
refined lyricism and the freshness of his diction brought a
new breath of life to Greek poetry. His work is permeated by
a deep feeling for the tragic predicament of the Greeks, as
indeed of modern man in general.
