SOURCE: "The Voyages of a Poet," in Los Angeles Times Book Review, October 1, 1995, p. 9.

In the following review, Merrill discusses Elytis's development as a poet which the artist traces in his Open Papers.

The flowering of Greek poetry in the 20th Century is one of the most interesting counterweights to the endless tragedy named modern European history. Constantine Cavafy, Angelos Sikelianos, George Seferis, Yannis Ritsos, Odysseus Elytis—these poets have shaped the internationalliterary landscape. And none is more exuberant in praising the things of the world than Elytis, about whom Lawrence Durrell wrote, "The Greek poet aims his heart and his gift at the sublime—for nothing else will do." Elytis calls himself a solar metaphysician; in the essays that make up Open Papers, his primary statement on poetry, he explores "the mystery of light," the dazzling heart of his work.

Born in 1911 on the island of Crete...