The increase in material has forced me to release this edition in two volumes. The first contains essays from May 1936 to the end of 1946, and the second from 1947 to April 1967. The order is purely chronological.
Not that I didn't attempt classifications by genre, but I found them all artificial in the face of the natural sequence of the flow of time. Two more detailed words. The reader will find here a few excerpts from forewords published in my other books. It is a way to emphasize my clear thoughts on certain topics, such as the transcription of the Scriptures.
Moreover, the advice of a dear philologist convinced me to include, by exception, my introduction to T. S. Eliot from 1936. He noted that the Essays show a continuity of work and it would be inappropriate to omit the first prose text I published. It is a work of other times. I have noted its shortcomings elsewhere.
I wanted then to help clarify certain poetic problems. However, I fear it was read, by the literary establishment of that time, in such a way that it created more confusion. It mainly caused, I would say, statistical thoughts, much like we think about the import and export of goods.
I do not mean the immediate reactions, which were almost nonexistent, but the indirect, reflexive ones that surfaced after some time. This is not a complaint. That experience helped me, at least, to see better and feel how critical thinking operates in our country.
Finally, I want to thank Mr. George Savvidis who carefully looked over my manuscripts; his opinions were extremely useful to me. I also thank Mr. Leonidas Zenakos who edited this edition.
[Excerpt from the text of the foreword]
