George Seferis
The Greek poet to whom Miller dedicated and gave the original 1939 manuscript; the notebook is also a record of their new friendship.
George Seferis — books, places, and lifeThe book
At a glance
- Friend, dedicatee, and central Greek literary presence
- Miller’s complete handwritten 1939 journal
- Selected Papers of George Seferis, Princeton University Library
- George Seferis · 1900–1971 · Smyrna and Athens
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeGeorge Seferis was the Greek poet and diplomat Miller met during his 1939 journey. First Impressions of Greece is dedicated to him and survives because Miller gave him the complete handwritten manuscript.
The gift mattered to Miller and Seferis. Rather than retain notes for the travel book he planned, Miller insisted that a gift had to be whole; Seferis kept it, and the manuscript later entered his papers at Princeton.
The profile uses the poet’s published name, Seferis. Miller’s Greece writing also calls him Seferiades, the family surname his friends used.
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