Customer Reviews

George Seferis: Waiting for the Angel, A Biography

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This biography is extremely well written; I haven't read one this good since "Captain Sir Richard Burton." The biography covers equally Greece's history from 1900-1970 and Seferis' Nobel-prizing winning body of poetry. The descriptions are vivid and the reader gets a complete sense of Seferis as statesman and artist. Although Seferis was not prolific, the author stresses the quality of his work and its timeliness during a tumultuous period for Greece, indeed the world.

The description of Skala is evocative of Odysseus's Ithaca and resonates profoundly throughout Serferis' story. The poetic analysis is well-resoned, although my only suggestion for the next edition of this biography is an appendix of his best poems.

This is a book that reaches a fine balance between the man (Seferis) and the historical context (Greek history from 1900 to 1971) in which his life unfolded. This balance also extends between the detailed documentation of researched references and the perfect story telling of a raconteur describing a rich life to a group of friends around a fireplace. The detail never gets boring. I suspect it is because the evolution of the book constantly moves from the details of Seferis' life to the appropriate context of major historical events taking place around his daily life.
I am of Greek heritage and have lived away from the homeland for more than forty years. I can relate to the strong feelings of childhood memories. The nostalgia of living away from the Greek light was the essential part of Seferis' life. It has been described in perfect balance between the natural world of the Greek landscape and that of the internal world of emotions by Professor Beaton.
On another note, I was aware of Seferis' career in the Greek Foreign Service, but had no clue as to how influential he was, especially in the Cyprus crisis. Alas, his concerns materialized and the current situation on the Island is nothing but an expression of his foresight and wisdom.
If you like Seferis' poetry, the Greek landscape and the Greek language and culture, you are going to be fascinated by this book. And, also, you will go back to read Seferis' poetry to read it again and "take in" the complexity that was "George"