Behind the familiar, larger-than-life image of Nobel Prize-winning poet George Seferis lies the equally significant, but less illuminated, story of the diplomat Georgios Seferiadis. In his book, George Georgis brings this very aspect of Seferis to light. Without following the chronological conventions of a biographical narrative, he paints the portrait of a man who found himself on the front lines of the great national crises of the 20th century.
The perceptive and pragmatic diplomat did not hesitate to clash with the political leadership of his time. He sharply criticized his colleagues, openly disagreed with Evangelos Averoff over his partitionist choices in Zurich, and remained a steadfast supporter of Archbishop Makarios. His career reached its climax in 1969, when he courageously and openly confronted the military junta. This act led to his diplomatic passport being revoked, but established him as an undisputed leader of the intellectual community in its opposition to the dictatorship.
The Diplomat Georgios Stylianos Seferiadis is an important study of Seferis the political figure, who served his country with insight, discipline, and a profound sense of history; who lived through history not as an observer, but as a conscious and uncompromising participant; and who never compromised with mediocrity, cynicism, or political expediency.
