Edmund Keeley

T. S. Eliot and the Poetry of George Seferis

T HE nature and extent of T. S. Eliots influence on the Greek poet, George Seferis, and through him, on the course of contemporary Greek poetry, has been an issue in Greek literary circles since the publication of Seferiss translation of The Waste Land and other poems in 1936. A discussion of this issue may interest students of Eliot because it offers, through the example of his relation to one poet, an insight into the broader subject of Eliots relation to the modern European tradition, an intimation of the role he has played in defining the poetic consciousness of Europe. Equally significant, it may help to introduce a poet of indisputable stature in Greek letters who has established a reputation in England and France but who has received only sparse recognition in this country. The few Greek critics of Seferis who are capable of reading Eliot do not argue so much about the fact of influence as about the degree. Seferis himself has acknowledged a certain debt to the English poet in a letter of tribute which he wrote for T. S. Eliot: A Symposium:

Beyond Growth: The Next Stage in Language and Area Studies@@@New Literary Continents: Selected Papers of the Fifth NDEA Seminar on Foreign Area Studies Sponsored by the School of International Affairs Columbia University and Council on National Literatures

Abstract : This report examines language and area competencies, research, campus-based and national organizations, and library and information resources. It concludes that the combined federal and private resources invested over several decades have created an immensely valuable national resource in language and area studies, one unrivaled anywhere in the world. The period growth and expansion, however, has come to an end. Important parts of this national resource have are in clear danger of serious decline. Furthermore, vital gaps exist in both the research and teaching components of language and area studies programs. Present funding mechanism are inflexible and inadequate. Capacities, now missing, to monitor the cross-sectional nature of the field and to allocate resources in ways better suited to the nations needs for language and area expertise are required. The report recommends some new programs and modifications of existing ones in those government agencies and private organizations most interested in thesse areas. It calls for relatively small but carefully targeted investments.