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partly because of its resemblance –its landscape,
its mixture of populations, and its traditions– to
his childhood summer home in Skala (Urla). His
book of poems,
Logbook III,
was inspired by the
island and mostly written there, bringing to an
end a period of almost seven years during which
Seferis had not produced any poetry. The book’s
original title,
Cyprus, Where It Was Ordained
for Me…
, made clear the optimistic sense of
homecoming Seferis felt on discovering the island.
Seferis changed the title to
Logbook III
with the
publication of the 1959 edition of the collection.
It was during these years that Cyprus was
entangled in a dispute between the UK, Greece
and Turkey over the then-colony’s international
status. Over the next few years, Seferis made use
of his position in the Greek diplomatic service to
try to resolve the dispute, investing a great deal of
personal effort and emotion.
In 1963, Seferis was awarded the Nobel Prize
for Literature “for his eminent lyrical writing,
inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world
of culture”. He was the first Greek to receive the
Prize (Odysseas Elytis was the second, in 1979).
His nationality and the role he played in the 20th
century renaissance of Greek literature and culture
were probably significant contributing factors
to the committee’s decision. In his acceptance
speech, Seferis chose to emphasise his own
humanist philosophy: “When on hisway toThebes
Oedipus encountered the Sphinx, his answer to its
riddle was: ‘Man.’That simple word destroyed the
monster. We have many monsters to destroy. Let
us think of the answer of Oedipus”.
Seferis’s early poetry includes
Turning Point
(1931) and
The Cistern
(1932). His mature poetry
begins with
Mythistorema
(1935), a series of 24
poems which translate the Odyssean myths into
a modern idiom. In
Book of Exercises
(1940),
Logbook I
(1940),
Logbook II
(1944),
Thrush
(1947) and
Logbook III
(1955), Seferis continues
to use Homer’s Odyssey as his symbolic source.
His
Three Secret Poems
(1966) comprises 28 short
lyric pieces.