Odysseus Elytis: Selected Poems

The poetry of Odysseus Elytis has long been known and admired in English-speaking countries, largely through earlier short selections by the present editors. The international recognition which came to Elytis with the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1979 makes this major representative selection, drawn from all periods of his distinguished career, especially valuable. The book traces his development from early surrealism, in which he transforms the French influence into a distinct personal voice and mythology, through the new and dramatic style of `The Axion Esti' with its blend of spirituality and earthiness, up to his most recent work published during the 1970s in which he continues to experiment with new modes for expressing his perennial themes. The poems are chosen and introduced by the leading translators of modern Greek poetry, Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Many new translations have been made specially for this book by the editors and by John Stathatos and Nanos Valaoritis.