Kleitos Kyrou 345pp. Agra, 2006 ISBN: 960-325-228-X ISBN13: 978-960-325-228-3

In this volume, Kleitos Kyrou (1921-2006) one of the most significant of the post-war generation of Greek poets, collects the fruits of a poetic output spanning some fifty years, from his first collection, Quest, in 1949 to his final collection, Hysteron Proteron, in 1996. The nine collections in total can, albeit arbitrarily, be divided into two major periods. It is the poems of the first period that have led Kyrou to be generally labelled a “social poet”, as belonging to the “generation of defeat”, terms used to characterize a whole generation of Greek poets who matured during the years of war, occupation and civil strife. Undoubtedly, a great many poems in this first period are marked by the experiences of those harsh years, yet even here the social comment is infused with a lyrical temperament. In the second period, social comment and lyricism give way to a more compact diction, more personal and metaphysical concerns, a more tragic tone. In recounting his personal tale, he is better able to recount that of his age.

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