Born on this day - Odysseas Elytis (November 2, 1911 – March 18, 1996) I know the night no longer I know the night no longer, the terrible anonymity of death A fleet of stars moors in the haven of my heart O Hesperos, sentinel, that you may shine by the side Of a skyblue breeze on an island which dreams Of me anouncing the dawn from its rocky heights My twin eyes set you sailing embraced With my true hearts star: I know the night no longer I know the names no longer of a world which disavows me I read seashells, leaves, and the stars clearly My hatred is superfluous on the roads of the sky Unless it is the dream which watches me again As I walked by the sea of immortality in tears O Hesperos, under the arc of your golden fire I know the night no longer that is a night only. ― Odysseas Elytis Translated by Kimon Friar Odysseas Elytis was regarded as a major exponent of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. In 1979 the Nobel Prize in Literature was bestowed on him. Elytis poetry has marked, through an active presence of over forty years, a broad spectrum of subject matter and stylistic touch with an emphasis on the expression of that which is rarefied and passionate. He borrowed certain elements from Ancient Greece and Byzantium but devoted himself exclusively to todays Hellenism, of which he attempted—in a certain way based on psychical and sentimental aspects—to reconstruct a modernist mythology for the institutions. His main endeavour was to rid peoples conscience from unjustifiable remorses and to complement natural elements through ethical powers, to achieve the highest possible transparency in expression and finally, to succeed in approaching the mystery of light, the metaphysics of the sun of which he was a worshiper -idolater by his own definition. A parallel manner concerning technique resulted in introducing the inner architecture, which is evident in a great many poems of his; mainly in the phenomenal landmark work It Is Truly Meet (Το Άξιον Εστί). This work due to its setting to music by Mikis Theodorakis as an oratorio, is a revered anthem whose verse is sung by all Greeks for all injustice, resistance and for its sheer beauty and musicality of form. Elytis theoretical and philosophical ideas have been expressed in a series of essays under the title The Open Papers (Ανοιχτά Χαρτιά). Besides creating poetry he applied himself to translating poetry and theatre as well as a series of collage pictures. Translations of his poetry have been published as autonomous books, in anthologies or in periodicals in eleven languages. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Hesperus as Personification of the Evening Star by Anton Raphael Mengs (1765). Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 11:20:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015