The Hidden Childness of a Nobel Prize-Winning Poet: George Seferis’s Limericks for Young Readers
Abstract
In addition to his outstanding poems for adults, George Seferis, the Nobel Prize-winning Greek poet, also wrote verses for children. The limericks he composed as gifts for children of his family were published in a volume entitled Poiḗmata me Zōgraphiés se Mikrá Paidiá [Poems with Drawings for Young Children] (1975), discussed in this paper. With these limericks, Seferis turned to the Anglo-Saxon poetic tradition of nonsense to oppose the ‘seriousness’ of adult life, while also coping with painful family memories and the dark atmosphere of World War II. He employed humour and playfulness as an antidote to harsh realities. Accompanied by surreal drawings, the playful verses became the playground where Seferis met his child readers as well as his childness.
Received: 30.06.2022
Accepted: 16.06.2023
Keywords
childness; George Seferis; Greek children’s literature; limericks; Nobel Prize-winning poet
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University of Patras Greece
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2383-2403
Dimitris Politis – PhD, Professor in the Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Patras (Greece). His research interests include children’s literature, theory of literature, and teaching of literature. Contact: dimpolitis@upatras.gr.
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Greece
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4680-1551
Angela Yannicopoulou – PhD, Professor in the Department of Preschool Education of the School of Education at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece). Her research interests include picturebooks, book materiality, and ideology. Contact: aggianik@ecd.uoa.gr.
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