A LEVANT JOURNAL

Cultural writing. Biography and Memoir. Edited and translated from the Greek by Roderick Beaton. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Greek poet and diplomat George Seferis stands as one of the giants of twentieth-century literature. This book presents for the first time in English selections from the journals he kept while traveling in the Middle East. With characteristic vividness and concision, Seferis reflects both on what he sees and what lies behind (and ahead of) the visible, as the journals include superb passages of travel writing and meditations on the Levant's Hellenistic legacy, the holy sites of the region, the history of prominent British women travelers to the area, and of course the turbulent politics of his day. As such, they move between private and public dimensions of the poet's life and provide an intimate look into his world.

"A Levant Journal is that rare book that will appeal to aesthetes and politicos alike.... In these intimate writings, Seferis bears witness to our folly with such care and precision that we may begin to understand some of our own mad impulses." --Christopher Merrill, Wilson Quarterly

"Seferis describes the difficulties of work and the anxieties of daily life as a diplomat being whisked from post to post to serve in Amman, Cairo, Cyprus, Damascus, Jerusalem...We see these places as Seferis saw them...and we are touched by his observations." --Library Journal

"A Levant Journal shows us the master...in two intense periods of his professional life, out of which he made great poetry. Roderick Beaton s long dedication to Seferis is evident on every page of his translation and introduction, and all lovers of Greek literature will want this book." --Jeffrey Carson, The Athens News