Borderlines: A Memoir

by Edmund Keeley

Keeley has had a lifelong relationship with Greece, beginning with his childhood, when his father served in the diplomatic corp. Borderlines is his memoir of Greece, its life, culture, writers and people. It traces his childhood through the war years, when, unable to return due to the war, he became almost an exile in his home country. As an adult he returns a professor, the translator and friend of the major Greek poets, and marries a Greek woman. Borderlines documents a writer’s search for meaning in a life influenced by often conflicting cultural values. Edmund Keeley is a professor emeritus at Princeton University. His most recent books Some Wine for Remembrance , a novel, and Inventing The Greek Journey 1937–47 .

Genres: Biography

340 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

Edmund Keeley was an American novelist, translator, poet, and essayist, as well as a longtime professor of English at Princeton University. Renowned for his expertise in modern Greek literature, he translated and promoted the works of C. P. Cavafy, George Seferis, Odysseas Elytis, and Yannis Ritsos. His extensive body of work spans fiction, poetry, and scholarship, often inspired by Greece and its culture. He served as president of both the Modern Greek Studies Association and PEN American Center, and received numerous awards and honors, including the Rome Prize, Guggenheim Fellowships, and the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful biographic writing about the childhood and early adult life of the child of an American diplomat. It goes through the experience of moving around the world, where your parent's job takes you and what impact the cultures you live in have on you. Edmund "Mike" Keeley spends several years as a child on an American farm in Salonika, Greece and falls in love with the country and the people. Even after returning to the States because of the war, his mind and soul remains abroad. I liked his style of describing his experiences and the people he encountered. The memoir ends a bit abrupt, but is nevertheless quite enjoyable.

[Patty Apostolides · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memoir by Edmund Keeley on his life as a diplomat's son, traveling to different countries, including Thessaloniki, Greece. Greece's mark on Keeley stayed with him the rest of his life. He married a Greek woman, translated Greek poetry that expanded Greek literature to the world, and most of his novels take place in Greece. A prolific writer, Keeley's works, fiction and nonfiction, deserve being read.