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Complete Poems
George Seferis (1900-1971) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1963. Truthful and magical, his poetry has captivated both Greek and foreign readers. Aptly described by Charlotte Du Cann as 'the unlocker of ancient stones and sea voyages', Seferis was for Peter Levi 'one of the greatest writers in this century in any language...From Seferis it was possible to learn...what seriousness about poetry is'.
324 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1969
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258 people want to read
About the author
George Seferis
130 books173 followersGeorge Seferis, pen name of Georgios Seferiadis,
Greek: Γιώργος Σεφέρης
Awarded the 1963 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture."
First Greek to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgos...
Greek: Γιώργος Σεφέρης
Awarded the 1963 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture."
First Greek to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgos...
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 29, 2023
'The poem is everywhere. Your voice
sometimes travels beside it
like a dolphin keeping company for a while
with a golden sloop in the sunlight,
then vanishing again. The poem is everywhere,
like the wings of the wind moved by the wind
to touch for a moment the sea-gull’s wings.[...]'
*
The forest stands as a shivering pillar for night
and the silence is a silver cup where moments fall
echoes distinct, whole, a careful chisel
sustained by carved lines...
*
The broken sunset declined and was gone
and it seemed a delusion to ask for the gifts of the sky.
*
The white sheet talks with your voice,
your very own,
not the voice you'd like to have;
your music is life,
the life you wasted.
If you want to, you can regain it:
concentrate on this blank object
that throws you back
to where you started.
*
You spoke about things they couldn’t see
and so they laughed.
Yet to row up the dark river
against the current,
to take the unknown road
blindly, stubbornly,
and to search for words rooted
like the knotted olive tree —
let them laugh.
And to yearn for the other world to inhabit
today’s suffocating loneliness,
this ravaged present —
let them be.
The sea-breeze and the freshness of dawn
exist whether or not we want them to.
[...]
Everything that has passed has fittingly passed.
And even what has not yet passed
must burn
this noon when the sun is riveted
to the heart of the multipetalled rose.
sometimes travels beside it
like a dolphin keeping company for a while
with a golden sloop in the sunlight,
then vanishing again. The poem is everywhere,
like the wings of the wind moved by the wind
to touch for a moment the sea-gull’s wings.[...]'
*
The forest stands as a shivering pillar for night
and the silence is a silver cup where moments fall
echoes distinct, whole, a careful chisel
sustained by carved lines...
*
The broken sunset declined and was gone
and it seemed a delusion to ask for the gifts of the sky.
*
The white sheet talks with your voice,
your very own,
not the voice you'd like to have;
your music is life,
the life you wasted.
If you want to, you can regain it:
concentrate on this blank object
that throws you back
to where you started.
*
You spoke about things they couldn’t see
and so they laughed.
Yet to row up the dark river
against the current,
to take the unknown road
blindly, stubbornly,
and to search for words rooted
like the knotted olive tree —
let them laugh.
And to yearn for the other world to inhabit
today’s suffocating loneliness,
this ravaged present —
let them be.
The sea-breeze and the freshness of dawn
exist whether or not we want them to.
[...]
Everything that has passed has fittingly passed.
And even what has not yet passed
must burn
this noon when the sun is riveted
to the heart of the multipetalled rose.
April 23, 2013
This is one of my favorite collections of poems. I routinetly reread it, defend it, teach it when I can.
What is terrible is that Seferis was so loved that people learned Greek so that they could read his poetry in the original. . . and now, Seferis has fallen by the wayside in favor of Cavafy. Like we can only have one Greek language poet.
Ridiculous!
Cavafy is great, and so is Seferis.
One reason Seferis isn't read is that he's considered "difficult."
Silly!
Here, what's difficult about this:
Days of June '41
The new moon came out over Alexandria
with the old moon in her arms
while we were walking towards the Gate of the Sun
in the heart's darkness--three friends.
Who wants to bathe in the waters of Proteus now?
We looked for metamorphosis in our youth
with desires that played like big fish
in seas suddenly shrinking;
we believed in the body's omnipotence.
And now the new moon has come out embracing
the old; and the beautiful island bleeding,
wounded; the calm island--the strong, the innocent island.
And the bodies like broken branches,
like roots uprooted.
Our thirst
a guard on horseback turned to marble
at the dark Gate of the Sun--
he doesn't know how to ask for anything: he stands guard
exiled somewhere around here
near the tomb of Alexander the Great.
What is terrible is that Seferis was so loved that people learned Greek so that they could read his poetry in the original. . . and now, Seferis has fallen by the wayside in favor of Cavafy. Like we can only have one Greek language poet.
Ridiculous!
Cavafy is great, and so is Seferis.
One reason Seferis isn't read is that he's considered "difficult."
Silly!
Here, what's difficult about this:
Days of June '41
The new moon came out over Alexandria
with the old moon in her arms
while we were walking towards the Gate of the Sun
in the heart's darkness--three friends.
Who wants to bathe in the waters of Proteus now?
We looked for metamorphosis in our youth
with desires that played like big fish
in seas suddenly shrinking;
we believed in the body's omnipotence.
And now the new moon has come out embracing
the old; and the beautiful island bleeding,
wounded; the calm island--the strong, the innocent island.
And the bodies like broken branches,
like roots uprooted.
Our thirst
a guard on horseback turned to marble
at the dark Gate of the Sun--
he doesn't know how to ask for anything: he stands guard
exiled somewhere around here
near the tomb of Alexander the Great.
August 22, 2024
I found the poems in this collection difficult to get any meaning from but there were still a few gems that sunk in.
February 2, 2025
XVIII
Siento tristeza porque dejé pasar un ancho río entre mis dedos
sin beber ni una gota.
Ahora me hundo en la piedra.
Un pino pequeño sobre la tierra roja,
no tengo otra compañía.
Cuanto amaba desapareció con las casas
que eran nuevas el verano pasado
y que se derrumbaron con el vendaval del otoño.
Siento tristeza porque dejé pasar un ancho río entre mis dedos
sin beber ni una gota.
Ahora me hundo en la piedra.
Un pino pequeño sobre la tierra roja,
no tengo otra compañía.
Cuanto amaba desapareció con las casas
que eran nuevas el verano pasado
y que se derrumbaron con el vendaval del otoño.
January 26, 2024
Una poesía atravesada por la mitología y las tragedias del siglo XX.
Seferis habla con una voz que pareciera estar fuera del tiempo, pero consciente de su historia. En cierto sentido, no solo habla del mito, aspira llegar a serlo.
Seferis habla con una voz que pareciera estar fuera del tiempo, pero consciente de su historia. En cierto sentido, no solo habla del mito, aspira llegar a serlo.
October 26, 2024
After going through Leonard Cohen's complete work, George Seferis was the next writer to really grab my attention. For a little background: he won a Nobel in 1963 and never published extensively throughout his life. He comes from the Greek tradition, and if I understand correctly takes the French Symbolists as an influence.
To characterize Seferis I'll compare / contrast with Cohen, who was a similarly strong, but very different poet.
What I find so appealing about the writing of Seferis is that he manages an original voice, original and interesting ideas, beautifully worded imagery, but somehow also resists the temptation to insert himself into his writing. He provides the briefest of glimpses of himself, but he does it deliberately and with intention. And so at the end of his poems the reader is left wondering who the man behind the curtain is.
While I liken Leonard Cohen's poetry to be a kind of diametric opposite. Much of Cohen's work involves self-examination, his own thoughts, his own relationship with the world. There was a kind of inward gaze in Cohen's writing, where Seferis was almost completely outward. Cohen was ever-present in his own writing, Seferis was not.
To be clear I enjoy both approaches, but near the end of his life Cohen's writing came across like philosophy, an inner dialogue. While the poetry of Seferis is something else entirely. Both produced beautiful work, each with a different character.
As for the content of this translation, Seferis' work is exceedingly beautiful. I often find myself put off by poetry that is image-heavy and shrouded, but in Seferis' case it's a joy to read. His writing just works.
To characterize Seferis I'll compare / contrast with Cohen, who was a similarly strong, but very different poet.
What I find so appealing about the writing of Seferis is that he manages an original voice, original and interesting ideas, beautifully worded imagery, but somehow also resists the temptation to insert himself into his writing. He provides the briefest of glimpses of himself, but he does it deliberately and with intention. And so at the end of his poems the reader is left wondering who the man behind the curtain is.
While I liken Leonard Cohen's poetry to be a kind of diametric opposite. Much of Cohen's work involves self-examination, his own thoughts, his own relationship with the world. There was a kind of inward gaze in Cohen's writing, where Seferis was almost completely outward. Cohen was ever-present in his own writing, Seferis was not.
To be clear I enjoy both approaches, but near the end of his life Cohen's writing came across like philosophy, an inner dialogue. While the poetry of Seferis is something else entirely. Both produced beautiful work, each with a different character.
As for the content of this translation, Seferis' work is exceedingly beautiful. I often find myself put off by poetry that is image-heavy and shrouded, but in Seferis' case it's a joy to read. His writing just works.
June 20, 2015
El signo de austeridad que baña la poética de Seferis proviene de la materia, del paisaje. Una poética arraigada en lo orgánico, en lo terrenal y en lo vivo. Imprescindible lectura.
September 26, 2022
Se me hace difícil leer poesía. Es un ejercicio consciente que trato de llevar adelante cada cierto tiempo, pero no me resulta muy natural.
Acá las obras completas de Seferis, Nobel de literatura lo que no es poco, precedido de un detallado estudio introductorio que ayuda a ver el contexto histórico y personal del autor. Siempre se agradece eso.
Los poemas hablan de lo humano, de la mitología.
Algunos me llamaron, la mayoría no.
No soy un lector de poesía
Acá las obras completas de Seferis, Nobel de literatura lo que no es poco, precedido de un detallado estudio introductorio que ayuda a ver el contexto histórico y personal del autor. Siempre se agradece eso.
Los poemas hablan de lo humano, de la mitología.
Algunos me llamaron, la mayoría no.
No soy un lector de poesía
August 18, 2021
Podría ser una edición bilingüe para apreciar mejor cierta cosas… de todos modos Seferis es bueno y el estudio histórico del inicio (160 páginas!) bastante interesante.
March 7, 2022
"if i chose to remain alone, what i longed for was solitude, not this kind of waiting, my soul shattered on the horizon, these lines, these colors, this silence."
June 4, 2024
„I too was an archer in the war;
my fate: that of a man who missed his target.“
my fate: that of a man who missed his target.“
October 30, 2023
Out of over 130 poems in this complete collection by Nobel Laureate and one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century George Seferis (1900-1971), 16 poems really stood out for me! They are as follows:
• Mythistorema: The garden with its fountains in the rain
• Letter of Mathias Paskalis
• Reflections on a foreign line of verse
• Adolescent (Mr Stratis Thalassinos)
• Man (Mr Stratis Thalassinos)
• Epiphany, 1937
• Raven
• Mathios Paskalis among the roses
• The return of the exile
• Solidarity
• The king of asini
• Thrush (in particular part II 🤓)
• Helen
• Summer solstice
• The sorrowing girl
• Erotikos Logos (in particular parts I, II & III 🤓)
• Mythistorema: The garden with its fountains in the rain
• Letter of Mathias Paskalis
• Reflections on a foreign line of verse
• Adolescent (Mr Stratis Thalassinos)
• Man (Mr Stratis Thalassinos)
• Epiphany, 1937
• Raven
• Mathios Paskalis among the roses
• The return of the exile
• Solidarity
• The king of asini
• Thrush (in particular part II 🤓)
• Helen
• Summer solstice
• The sorrowing girl
• Erotikos Logos (in particular parts I, II & III 🤓)
April 25, 2024
Poetry in translation is an art form in itself. A translator must not only transpose the words that the original poet has carefully arranged on a sheet of paper, but critically they are responsible to reproduce the melodic rhythm of each poem. Without the latter, the final work feels forced, raising in the mind of the reader questions on the quality of the poetry itself.
Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard shared an immense interest in the development of modern Greek poetry, together working towards a popularisation of the movement in the English-speaking world. Their translations are often considered as key to the international fame of the two Hellenic poets to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Giorgos Seferis (1963) and Odysseas Elytis (1979).
The “Complete Poems” of Giorgos Seferis in their translation is a well curated anthology. Its main scope is to introduce the reader to the author’s celebrated free-verse modernist collections: “Mythistorema” (1935), “Gymnopaidia” (1935), “Book of Exercises” (1940), “Logbook I” (1940), “Logbook II” (1944), “Thrush” (1947), “Logbook III” (1955), “Three Secret Poems” (1966) and “Book of Exercises ΙΙ” (1976). An appendix containing the “Rhymed Poems” (1924-1953) is added for completion, but without much heart, at the end of book.
Seferis is a poet that the boasts about his erudite knowledge of mythology, theology and history. His poetry is a cryptic exercise of obscure citations mixed with potent metaphors, aimed at creating a historical unity between the ancient and modern Greek traditions. The Homeric myths, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides, the Byzantine histories coalesce with Biblical references to form a collective memory that should remind the contemporary Greeks that their history of suffering is predetermined. The necessity to re-affirm the past is critical in his writing, for it allows the poet to ask existentialist questions in the realm of the universal. The Hellenic story of the 20th century must have the mythical proportion and poetic purpose to re-establish its greatness in a modern world. The suffering of man becomes the apogee in the quest of survival, and thus an enduring raison d'être, not specific to just his nation, but to the world as a whole.
Given the scope of his poetry, it is evident that Seferis can be seen more as a leading figure in a nationalist poetic movement, similar to the role Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson played for his own Norwegian nation at the turn of the 20th century. As a leading diplomat and politician, Seferis promoted the plight of his people in both his literary output and his political writings. But importance of scope rarely translates into poetry with the same universal appeal that is common amongst the greatest of the poets. The evocation of the past to connect to the present in Seferis’s writing feels more of an elitist gesture to establish the superiority of the Western civilisation over the barbarity of others. His racist jibes, though few in number in the poems he wrote in South Africa, stick as a thorn, exposing the lack of universal care towards all humans. As a result, we see a writer that sings in his language for the purpose of his people only.
As Graecophiles, both Keeley and Sherrard turned a blind eye to this point. Their concern is in celebrating a poet that they believe has universal appeal. In spite of this, they seem to be actually the root cause for a negative interpretation of Seferis’s work. By focusing mainly on the content of the poetry, both translators did little in ensuring that the poetic lyricism is not lost in the process. The rhymed poems of the appendix make this evident, even to non-Greek speakers, as it disregards fully the poetic structure, leaving the poems as empty cocoons woven with words, petrified by their lack of melody.
The ”Complete Poems” as a collection makes a disservice to Giorgos Seferis, a politician who wanted to elevate his nation’s suffering through the sound of modernity. His voice is muted, leaving the reader to battle the importance of one’s writing with the pleasure of reading.
Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard shared an immense interest in the development of modern Greek poetry, together working towards a popularisation of the movement in the English-speaking world. Their translations are often considered as key to the international fame of the two Hellenic poets to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Giorgos Seferis (1963) and Odysseas Elytis (1979).
The “Complete Poems” of Giorgos Seferis in their translation is a well curated anthology. Its main scope is to introduce the reader to the author’s celebrated free-verse modernist collections: “Mythistorema” (1935), “Gymnopaidia” (1935), “Book of Exercises” (1940), “Logbook I” (1940), “Logbook II” (1944), “Thrush” (1947), “Logbook III” (1955), “Three Secret Poems” (1966) and “Book of Exercises ΙΙ” (1976). An appendix containing the “Rhymed Poems” (1924-1953) is added for completion, but without much heart, at the end of book.
Seferis is a poet that the boasts about his erudite knowledge of mythology, theology and history. His poetry is a cryptic exercise of obscure citations mixed with potent metaphors, aimed at creating a historical unity between the ancient and modern Greek traditions. The Homeric myths, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides, the Byzantine histories coalesce with Biblical references to form a collective memory that should remind the contemporary Greeks that their history of suffering is predetermined. The necessity to re-affirm the past is critical in his writing, for it allows the poet to ask existentialist questions in the realm of the universal. The Hellenic story of the 20th century must have the mythical proportion and poetic purpose to re-establish its greatness in a modern world. The suffering of man becomes the apogee in the quest of survival, and thus an enduring raison d'être, not specific to just his nation, but to the world as a whole.
Given the scope of his poetry, it is evident that Seferis can be seen more as a leading figure in a nationalist poetic movement, similar to the role Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson played for his own Norwegian nation at the turn of the 20th century. As a leading diplomat and politician, Seferis promoted the plight of his people in both his literary output and his political writings. But importance of scope rarely translates into poetry with the same universal appeal that is common amongst the greatest of the poets. The evocation of the past to connect to the present in Seferis’s writing feels more of an elitist gesture to establish the superiority of the Western civilisation over the barbarity of others. His racist jibes, though few in number in the poems he wrote in South Africa, stick as a thorn, exposing the lack of universal care towards all humans. As a result, we see a writer that sings in his language for the purpose of his people only.
As Graecophiles, both Keeley and Sherrard turned a blind eye to this point. Their concern is in celebrating a poet that they believe has universal appeal. In spite of this, they seem to be actually the root cause for a negative interpretation of Seferis’s work. By focusing mainly on the content of the poetry, both translators did little in ensuring that the poetic lyricism is not lost in the process. The rhymed poems of the appendix make this evident, even to non-Greek speakers, as it disregards fully the poetic structure, leaving the poems as empty cocoons woven with words, petrified by their lack of melody.
The ”Complete Poems” as a collection makes a disservice to Giorgos Seferis, a politician who wanted to elevate his nation’s suffering through the sound of modernity. His voice is muted, leaving the reader to battle the importance of one’s writing with the pleasure of reading.
December 30, 2019
Having a quick flick through this as I catalogue it, shows that I should reread some of the poems. Perhaps it deserves more stars.
March 1, 2023
De "Poesía íntegra" editada por tres puntos.
Previamente habia leido "Strofi" y "La cistern". Aunque hay versos de mi agrado, muchos de los poemas en particular me dejaron indiferentes y el poemario en su conjunto tampoco me pareció potenciarlos.
En cuanto Mythistorima, no me parece deslumbrante, original, pero es agradable. Los poemas de esta coleccion otorgan esa felicidad de mirar lo que es bello, simple y humano. Los temas recurrentes son el exilio, los recuerdos, la espera, la añoranza, el viaje y el retorno, la vida y la historia que se repiten. Como materia prima está Grecia, principalmente con Ulises y los Argonautas.
A veces sus poemas, que repiten el motivo del retiro, llenos de nostalgia, parecen una version algo mas moderna de los poemas de la dinastia Tang:
XVIII
Siento tristeza porque dejé pasar un rio entre mis dedos
sin beber ninguna gota.
Ahora me hundo en la piedra.
Un pino pequeño en la tierra roja,
no tengo otra compañía
Cuanto amaba desaparecio con las casas
que eran nuevas el verano pasado
y que se derrumbaron con el vendaval de otoño.
Tras el exilio queda la memoria. En estos poemas el pasado nos habla, pero también la esperanza de hablarle a quienes nos siguen:
XIV
(...)
Nosotros que nada tuvimos les enseñaremos la serenidad.
Previamente habia leido "Strofi" y "La cistern". Aunque hay versos de mi agrado, muchos de los poemas en particular me dejaron indiferentes y el poemario en su conjunto tampoco me pareció potenciarlos.
En cuanto Mythistorima, no me parece deslumbrante, original, pero es agradable. Los poemas de esta coleccion otorgan esa felicidad de mirar lo que es bello, simple y humano. Los temas recurrentes son el exilio, los recuerdos, la espera, la añoranza, el viaje y el retorno, la vida y la historia que se repiten. Como materia prima está Grecia, principalmente con Ulises y los Argonautas.
A veces sus poemas, que repiten el motivo del retiro, llenos de nostalgia, parecen una version algo mas moderna de los poemas de la dinastia Tang:
XVIII
Siento tristeza porque dejé pasar un rio entre mis dedos
sin beber ninguna gota.
Ahora me hundo en la piedra.
Un pino pequeño en la tierra roja,
no tengo otra compañía
Cuanto amaba desaparecio con las casas
que eran nuevas el verano pasado
y que se derrumbaron con el vendaval de otoño.
Tras el exilio queda la memoria. En estos poemas el pasado nos habla, pero también la esperanza de hablarle a quienes nos siguen:
XIV
(...)
Nosotros que nada tuvimos les enseñaremos la serenidad.
June 1, 2012
Some books change a person's life, as the saying goes. If you want to understand the Greek poetic spirit of exile--with both its melancholy and beauty, there is no better entry point than Seferis.
September 3, 2017
Beautiful works that linger. I can't read Greek but these translations are wonderful English. More to Greek poetry than Cavafy.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews