Description: In exploring the significance of Homer for the poetry of Modern Greece, Dr. Ricks is tackling a theme that has implications for the study of poetic influence in general. He takes the work of Sikelianos, Cavafy and Seferis and subjects a selection of poems that deal with specifically Homeric themes to a careful scrutiny. All Greek is translated, modern poets from outside Greece find their way into the discussion, and the reader has no need to be a specialist in Greek to find this study absorbing and instructive.
Review Quotes: "...an invaluable guide to the poetry of modern Greece. His study is informed by a command of Homeric poetry and a long familiarity with the Iliad and Odyssey that allow him to recognize the many forms of allusion to Homer in modern Greek poetry, many of which would be invisible to the untrained eye. He clearly knows the full range of the poets he is working with, and this makes it possible for him to concentrate on their relation to Homer." Arion