Elytis, Odysseus

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A Poet Without Borders.
Being There
Great book, but not the _complete_ works
An excellent translation of a major world poet.

The Collected Poems of Odysseus Elytis
Odysseus Elytis
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0801880459

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Despite having won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1979, Odysseus Elytis--probably the greatest Greek poet of the 20th century--remained an obscure figure to the English-reading world. But with this posthumous edition (Elytis died in 1996 at the age of 84), translators Jeffrey Carson and Nikos Sarris have given English-reading poetry lovers a chance to discover what all the fuss was about. Elytis's poems are passionate and subtle, rich with Greek history and myth, yet are also thoroughly modern in their sensibility. Any excerpt from a lifetime's worth of work is inadequate, but these lines from "Verb the Dark" give you a taste of Elytis's depth: "So then, what we called 'sky' is not; 'love' is not; 'eternal' is not. Things do not / Obey their names."

Book Description

In awarding Odysseus Elytis the 1979 Nobel Prize in literature, the Swedish Academy praised him "for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clearsightedness modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness." Throughout his long career as a poet, Elytis (1911--1996) remained true to his vision of a poetry that addresses the power of language and connects the history and mythology of Greece to the physical world and to the realities of the modern age. Renowned for their astonishing lyricism and profound optimism, Elytis's poems capture the natural wonders of Greece and give voice to the contemporary Greek -- and to a more universally human -- consciousness.

Originally published in 1997, The Collected Poems of Odysseus Elytis, translated into English by Jeffrey Carson and Nikos Sarris, was the first complete collection of Elytis's poems in any language. Included in this landmark volume were Elytis's early poems, influenced in equal parts by surrealism and the natural world; Song Heroic and Mourning for the Lost Second Lieutenant of the Albanian Campaign, his epic poem connecting Greece's -- and his own -- Second World War experience to the myth of the eternal Greek hero; his most ambitious work, The Axion Esti; and his mature poetry, from Maria Nephele to West of Sorrow.

For this expanded new edition, Carson and Sarris have added sixty free verse and prose poems first published in Greek in the posthumous 1998 volume From Close By, as well as a set of song lyrics, The Rhos of Eros, and a cantata, The Sovereign Sun, previously omitted. All have been translated with the same care and elegance as the rest of Elytis's oeuvre, brilliantly rendering into English the Greek poet's lyrical voice and the richness of his diction.

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A Poet Without Borders........2001-09-04

Odysseus Elytis (1911 -1996) was a very gifted Greek poet who dedicated his life to a love of hope, beauty, freedom and Greek tradition conveyed in words and imagery that leave the reader thirsting for more. It is this insatiable thirst for droplets of human comfort during life's anguished moments and visionary beauty which together give rise to rainbows of hope that is shared by people of all cultures that has made Elytis a "poete sans frontiers", or a poet without borders.

The Collected Poems of Odysseus Elytis published in 1997 is the first collection of the entire body of poetry of Elytis in any language, including Greek. The translations by Jeffrey Carson and Nikos Sarris do justice to the original poems, providing the reader with the same captivating lyricism and surreal imagery used by Elytis to give voice to the universally human consciousness.

The poetry of Elytis gained the attention of the Swedish Academy which announced in 1979 that Odysseus Elytis had been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature "for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness."

Another honorable recognition was bestowed upon Elytis in 1964 when the renown Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis set Elytis' epic poem The Axion Esti to music and the resulting music and lyrics became so popular that today many Greeks know at least part of the song by heart. The Axion Esti was considered to be the poet's most ambitious poem and was described by the Swedish Academy as "one of twentieth century literature's most concentrated and ritually faceted poems". This poem recounts the world of Eros, including his battle against the darkness created by misunderstanding and hatred, his victory, and the ultimate justification and praise.

Elytis possessed an historical as well as a moral awareness that became a pivotal part of his poems and served as a counterweight to his deep and abiding love of the Aegean with all of its spectacular beauty. Elytis faced the prospect of his own human mortality as well as the manifestation of tragic human evil when he served with distinction at the Albanian front during the Second World War when the Greeks defeated the Mussolini's army in the first allied forces victory against the Axis. The horrors of that military campaign, followed by his brutal experiences with the Nazi occupation of Greece, a civil war and a military dictatorship, provided a significant catalyst for this gifted poet to continue to carry the literary torch in the tradition of Greece's best poetry which identified ideal beauty with moral good and truth.

The art, literature, philosophy and religion of pre-Classical Greece also greatly influenced the lifetime work of Elytis. In many of his poems, Elytis wrote about heroism in the context of the ancient hero upon whom risks, danger and even terror are thrust by Fate, after which the hero bravely confronts the challenge and is transformed by the experience. The hero, to whom the reader can relate from his own life's experiences, is given this opportunity for growth and development through the inevitable wounds, wisdom and willfulness that result from his encounter with Fate's challenge ... wounds that will heal and sculpt scars of remembrance; wisdom that is born of reflection, generosity of spirit and adherence to life's values; and willfulness of the inner strength of our spirit. A reader of his poetry cannot help seeing himself in many of these poems that at the same time serve to inspire and throw down the gauntlet.

I will always remember Elytis as the Poet of the Aegean Sea. He was born in 1911 and began writing poetry in 1929 in the Aegean islands. He later established himself as one of the leading voices of a generation of literary giants, including his fellow Nobel Laureate George Seferis and Yannis Ritsos. Unlike Seferis who spent a lifetime struggling against melancholy, Elytis is widely appreciated by his readers because he finds hope even in tragedy. His poetry clearly reflects his relentless search for the paradise that lives deeply within all of us and his conviction that the discovery of paradise is within our capability as well as our grasp. Elytis' poems celebrate the vitality and vibrancy of the Aegean landscape, the energies of man and his soul and the spirit of nature. He uses the power of language to link myth with history and to confront good and evil. His poetry clearly reflects his love of hope, freedom and the beauty that is in all.

This first collection of all the works of the great master is a must for anyone who endeavors to explore the Modern Greek culture and discover its representation of the universal human experience. This book has become a source of constant inspiration and discovery in our home.

Being There.......2000-03-14

This translation by Jeffrey Carson is a delight for the senses. The poetry of Elytis has stimulated a great number of intellectual reviews, but there can be no true appreciation without experiencing the context of his work. These poems present a life that could be lived only in Greece. No translator who has not tasted that life would be able to capture this essence of Elytis. Carson was chosen for this task partly because of his own life in Greece: because he truly does understand.

Great book, but not the _complete_ works.......1999-02-14

An awesome book, but readers should be aware that the "collected" in the title is somewhat misleading. "Collected", yes, "complete", no. In August 1998 _Eros, Eros, Eros : Selected and Last Poems_ by Elytis (his real name was Odysseus Alepoudhelis, by the way) was published, containing his last poems.

An excellent translation of a major world poet........1998-12-04

What a pleasure now to have the complete poems of Odysseus Elytis, the Greek winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Literature, thoughtfully and sensitively translated by the American poet Jeffrey Carson and the Greek musician Nikos Sarris. Elytis was born on Crete in 1911. His family was from Lesbos, the island of another great poet, Sappho, and Elytis often vacationed there. Carson and Sarris both live on Paros, and it is no doubt their familiarity with the nuances of Aegean sun and sea, and their love for that harsh clarity, that gives them insights into Elytis' poetry. The erotic and the sea are themes that Elytis pursues throughout his long life. (He died in 1996.) Eros is love, sensual love, for the kore, the young woman who appears in his poems; she is a muse, and she also embodies the truth that resides within, and beyond, the familiar things of the world-in particular, the archipelago, the sun-drenched world of the Aegean, of Greece. Any translation of poetry may be suspect, but these translations are not only faithful to the Greek but harmonious with the music and the spirit of the original. Elytis encouraged and approved Carson's and Sarris' twenty-year labor of love and diligence, begun in the late `70's when Elytis happened upon some poems of Carson's. Carson, already an admirer of Elytis' poetry, had written, in Greek, a series of notes on Elytis' work, which Elytis arranged to have published. Elytis encouraged Carson and Sarris to capture the flavor, rather than the literalness, of his poetry, but they found that a literal translation in fact best captured the spirit of Elytis' verse. Carson's Introduction and Notes provide informative and concise guidance to the reader new to Elytis. This is the only complete collection of Elytis' poems in any language, including Greek. The poems' bracing adventurousness is not only quintessentially Greek but uncannily American, too, in the tradition of Whitman's sensual inclusiveness and Henry Miller's cosmic exuberance. Elytis may be a healthy elixir for our present minimalist, formalist, confessional fashions. William Borden, North Dakota Quarterly

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Elytis, The Poems of Odysseus
Odysseus Elytis , Edmund Keeley , and Philip Sherrard
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140422897

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Jubilat Two (II - 2) fall/winter 2000
John, Photography, Ammiel Alcalay, Lisa Beskin, Michael Burkard, John Clare, Killarney Clary, John D'Agata, Odysseus Elytis, Xanana Gusmao, Ellen Hinsey, Richard Hugo, Mong-Lan, Nathaniel Mackey, Pierre Martory, Jane Miller Bob Perelman, Matthew Rohrer, Martha Ronk, Samuel Ogden White (Contributors) O'Reilly
Manufacturer: Univ. of Mass.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PIPHFA

Sovereign Sun: Selected Poems Pprox 448P

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Sovereign Sun: Selected Poems Pprox 448P
Odysseus Elytis
Manufacturer: Temple Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0877221138

Four Greek Poets (Penguin Modern European Poets)

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Four Greek Poets (Penguin Modern European Poets)
C. P. Cavafy , George Seferis , Odysseus Elytis , and Nikos Gatsos
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BJRBGG

For a Ville D'Avray. (poem): An article from: World Literature Today

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For a Ville D'Avray. (poem): An article from: World Literature Today
Odysseus Elytis
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on June 22, 1997. The length of the article is 420 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details
Title: For a Ville D'Avray. (poem)
Author: Odysseus Elytis
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1997
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: v71 Issue: n3 Page: p509(1) Distributed by Thomson Gale

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...Light Life Love...

The Axion Esti (Pitt Poetry Series)
Odysseus Elytis
Manufacturer: University of Pittsburgh Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Collected Poems of Odysseus Elytis
George Seferis: Collected Poems

ASIN: 0822953188

Book Description

The Axion Esti is probably the most widely read volume of verse to have appeared in Greece since World War II and remains a classic today. Those who follow the music of Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis have been especially drawn to Odysseus Elytis's work, his prose is widely considered a mirror to the revolutionary music of Theodorakis. The "autobiographical" elements are constantly colored by allusion to the history of Greece, thus, the poems express a contemporary consciousness fully resonant with those echoes of the past that have served most to shape the modern Greek experience.

Customer Reviews:

...Light Life Love..........1998-05-15

Resplendent. All that I have tried to accomplish in my writing is crystallized by this tender-voiced poet. Here, he takes the elemental power of beauty found in nature, youth and man, and restructures the reality of time. He weaves a personal mythology, integrating surrealism and Greek history. It is impossible to describe the affect and style of this work which alternates between prose, free verse and complex, metered verse. The eternal conflict and balance between Light and Dark is chronicled. Elytis speaks with a universality that transcends war and history specific to Greece--his message is applicable to all peoples and times. Moving, tragic, humorous, dark and beautiful, The Axion Esti celebrates Light, Life and Love. Stin archi to Fos kai i ora i proti, pou ta cheili akoma ston pilo dokimazoun ta pragmata tou kosmou...

Clear Days : Poems By Palamas and Elytis

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Clear Days : Poems By Palamas and Elytis
Costas; Odysseus Elytis; Nikos Tselepides (translator) Palamas
Manufacturer: Press - 22
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JCFLX0

Radamos and Hebe. (poem): An article from: World Literature Today

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Radamos and Hebe. (poem): An article from: World Literature Today
Odysseus Elytis
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Poetry | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on June 22, 1997. The length of the article is 615 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details
Title: Radamos and Hebe. (poem)
Author: Odysseus Elytis
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1997
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: v71 Issue: n3 Page: p510(1) Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Sovereign Sun: Selected Poems.
Odysseus Elytis
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M3XR8C

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