Kimon Friar
Kimon Friar immigrated to the United States in 1915, becoming fascinated with the English language and poetry after reading Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn. He received his MA from the University of Michigan and went on to teach English at Adelphi University, New York University, UC Berkeley, and Ohio State University. Friar often organized poetry readings, running the Poetry Center at the YW/YMHA in New York City for a time and encouraging poets from all walks of life to join in. He is best known for his translation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ epic poem The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, but published a plethora of other translations including Sodom and Gomorrah (Nostos Books, 1982) by Nikos Kazantzakis, With Face to the Wall: Selected Poems by Miltos Sahtouris (Charioteer Press, 1968), and Selected Poems: 1938-1988 (BOA Editions, 1989) with Kostas Myrsiades by Yannis Ritsos. Friar won grants from the Ford Foundation and the National Foundation of the Arts.
