Full of wit and wonder, these prose poems, meditations, and narratives open onto rare and unexpected vistas of history and myth, language, and the art of writing.

". . .one of the most distinguished and enigmatic of modern Greek poets, full of Platonic wisdom. His originality of temperament is a most singluar thing. . . .[his] new book is splendid." --Lawrence Durrell

"The purpose of the book is twofold: first, to revise certain aspects of nationalist modernism, and secondly, to radicalize Greek modernism by undermining continuity and tradition. . . . Valaoritis's revision primarily concerns the continuity and validity of tradition as expressed in the "myth of Greekness."" --Panayiotis Bosnakis, Journal of Modern Greek Studies

Nanos Valaoritis was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1921, of Greek parents. He has lived in Athens, Paris, and the United States. One of Greece's most distinguished contemporary writers, he is the author of novels, plays, and poetry, and was twice awarded the Greek national poetry prize.