Corfu Writers and Artists

Corfu writers and artists inspired by the island include both residents and visitors, like Gerald and Lawrence Durrell, Edward Lear, and Henry Miller.

'It's always good to find a reason for visiting Corfu Town,' says the British author Emma Tennant in her 2004 book Corfu Banquet. Subtitled ‘A Memoir with Seasonal Recipes’, this is one of two books she has written about the island.

Emma Tennant

Tennant, who was better known in Britain as the author of such novels as The Bad Sister and Wild Nights, has also written the non-fiction A House in Corfu (2001). This tells the story of her parents seeing a house in Corfu in the 1960s, a place called Rovinia, and falling in love with it and moving in. Emma Tennant shared their love of the island, showing the inspiration that Corfu has given to writers and artists over the centuries.

Lawrence and Gerald Durrell

The most famous of all of these, partly because there were two of them, were the brothers Gerald and Lawrence Durrell. Lawrence was the elder brother and appears as the butt of many jokes in Gerald's account of his 1930s boyhood on Corfu, My Family and Other Animals. 

It was on Corfu that Gerald Durrell’s great love of natural history blossomed, resulting in him pursuing a career as both a naturalist and a writer, and becoming the founder of the Jersey Wildlife Conservation Trust. It’s no exaggeration to say that there are species of birds and animals surviving today which would not have made it if not for Durrell's pioneering work, spurred on by his curiosity about, and love of, the wildlife on Corfu.

Lawrence Durrell was always the more intellectual of the two brothers and went on to great success as a novelist, poet, essayist, critic, and travel writer. He lived for a time at the White House in Kalámi, which is still there today and is where he wrote Prospero's Cell. This was his own account of life on Corfu - very different from his younger brother's! - as well as working on his novels and poems. 

Henry Miller

A friend of Lawrence Durrell's was the American writer, Henry Miller, renowned as the author of such controversial books as Tropic of Cancer. He visited Durrell on Corfu, and part of this account appears in his wonderful travel memoir The Colossus of Maroussi. Many readers think that, despite the renown of his infamous novels, this is his best book, fired as he was by his love of the passionate Greek people. 

Edward Lear

The English artist and writer Edward Lear was yet another whose work was coloured by his reactions to Corfu. Well-known to generations of British children, and adults, as the author of nonsense poems such as ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’, Lear also wrote several travel books and visited Corfu on many occasions. His restful landscapes are in complete contrast to his bizarre and funny verse, and some of his Corfu paintings can be seen in Corfu Town's Municipal Art Gallery, contained within the Palace of St Michael and St George.

Icon Painters

It is not only foreign visitors, of course, who have been inspired by Corfu – by its beauty, its myths, its history. A great many Greek icon painters have lived and worked on Corfu, including many from the famous Cretan School, often on their way to Venice.

There was sufficient of a local movement to encourage the formation of an Ionian School of Painting too, probably by Panayiótis Doxáras. Doxáras was born on the Greek mainland but worked in several of the Ionian Islands, including Corfu, where he painted the roof of the church of St Spyridon in Corfu Town.

Pávlos Prosaléntis

Corfu has produced great sculptors too, notably Pávlos Prosaléntis, who was born on Corfu in 1784 and is considered one of the greatest of Greek sculptors. A room devoted to his work, including some paintings, can be found in the Palaiópolis Museum in Mon Repos.

Corfu Writers and Artists

From Homer, who used Corfu as the inspiration for the mythical island of Scheria in The Odyssey, and Shakespeare, whose island setting of The Tempest has also been linked to Corfu, through to modern writers and artists, this beautiful Ionian island inspires more than just the holidaymakers who flock here.

Where to Stay on Corfu



Other Corfu pages

  • These Corfu shopping tips include advice on buying souvenirs like ceramics, jewelry, gold, silver, wood carvings, and food and drink, with tips on haggling.

    Corfu Shopping Tips

    These Corfu shopping tips include advice on buying souvenirs like ceramics, jewelry, gold, silver, wood carvings, and food and drink, with tips on haggling.

  • These fun facts about Corfu include how the island got its name, who wrote the Greek National Anthem, and the eccentric Englishman, the Earl of Guilford.

    Fun Facts about Corfu

    These fun facts about Corfu include how the island got its name, who wrote the Greek National Anthem, and the eccentric Englishman, the Earl of Guilford.

  • Corfu Town is the capital of Corfu and of the Ionian Islands and has museums, two forts, several museums, churches, and many other attractions.

    Corfu Town

    Corfu Town is the capital of Corfu and of the Ionian Islands and has museums, two forts, several museums, churches, and many other attractions.

  • Corfu or Kerkyra is the main island in the Greek Ionian islands with Corfu Town being one of the most attractive of Greek island capitals.

    Corfu

    Corfu or Kerkyra is the main island in the Greek Ionian islands with Corfu Town being one of the most attractive of Greek island capitals.

  • If you want to tour northern Corfu in three days you can see busy resorts, quiet fishing villages, Mount Pantokrator, and the Andinioti Lagoon.

    Northern Corfu in Three Days

    If you want to tour northern Corfu in three days you can see busy resorts, quiet fishing villages, Mount Pantokrator, and the Andinioti Lagoon.

  • The best things to do on Corfu include visiting Palaiokastritsa, a day trip to Albania, seeing the Achilleion Palace, and the museums in Corfu Town.

    Best Things to Do on Corfu

    The best things to do on Corfu include visiting Palaiokastritsa, a day trip to Albania, seeing the Achilleion Palace, and the museums in Corfu Town.

  • Corfu’s wildlife includes rare and colourful birds, snakes, lizards, fireflies, and insects, with plenty of places to watch the wildlife like lakes and lagoons.

    Corfu Wildlife

    Corfu’s wildlife includes rare and colourful birds, snakes, lizards, fireflies, and insects, with plenty of places to watch the wildlife like lakes and lagoons.

  • The Korission Lagoon on the west coast of Corfu is also called Lake Korission and has abundant wildlife, especially birds, and one of the best beaches on Corfu.

    Korission Lagoon

    The Korission Lagoon on the west coast of Corfu is also called Lake Korission and has abundant wildlife, especially birds, and one of the best beaches on Corfu.

  • Northern Corfu is the most diverse part of the island, with Corfu's highest point, Mt Pantokrator, and beach resorts like Sidari and Palaiokastritsa.

    Northern Corfu

    Northern Corfu is the most diverse part of the island, with Corfu's highest point, Mt Pantokrator, and beach resorts like Sidari and Palaiokastritsa.

  • From Nero to Nicolas Cage, the invasion of Corfu goes back to Roman times and through to Hollywood today!

    The Invasion of Corfu

    From Nero to Nicolas Cage, the invasion of Corfu goes back to Roman times and through to Hollywood today!

  • There are three islands off the northwest coast of Corfu, Erikouusa, Othoni and Mathraki, popular with day-trippers from resorts like Sidari.

    Corfu Offshore Islands

    There are three islands off the northwest coast of Corfu, Erikouusa, Othoni and Mathraki, popular with day-trippers from resorts like Sidari.

  • Kassiopi is a popular tourist resort on the northeast coast of Corfu with a sandy beach, Byzantine fortress, old church, and lots of places to stay and to eat.

    Kassiopi

    Kassiopi is a popular tourist resort on the northeast coast of Corfu with a sandy beach, Byzantine fortress, old church, and lots of places to stay and to eat.

  • Paleokastritsa is on the west coast of Corfu and is one of the most popular holiday spots. This page gives information on beaches, boat trips, weather and map.

    Paleokastritsa, Corfu

    Paleokastritsa is on the west coast of Corfu and is one of the most popular holiday spots. This page gives information on beaches, boat trips, weather and map.

  • Corfu Town’s Old Fortress is the town’s most striking landmark, standing east of the Old Town on top of a rocky promontory.

    Corfu Town’s Old Fortress

    Corfu Town’s Old Fortress is the town’s most striking landmark, standing east of the Old Town on top of a rocky promontory.

  • Greece Travel Secrets’ pick of where to stay in southern Corfu including hotels in Moraïtika, Paramonas, Messonghi, Agios Georgios, and near Benitses.

    Where to Stay in Southern Corfu

    Greece Travel Secrets’ pick of where to stay in southern Corfu including hotels in Moraïtika, Paramonas, Messonghi, Agios Georgios, and near Benitses.

  • Southern Corfu has busy beach resorts like Benitses, historical buildings like the Achilleion Palace and Gardiki Castle, and wildlife at the Korision Lagoon.

    Southern Corfu

    Southern Corfu has busy beach resorts like Benitses, historical buildings like the Achilleion Palace and Gardiki Castle, and wildlife at the Korision Lagoon.

  • This Southern Corfu drive starts and ends in Moraïtika, taking in hill villages, secluded beaches, lovely views, and a visit to Gardiki Castle.

    Southern Corfu Drive

    This Southern Corfu drive starts and ends in Moraïtika, taking in hill villages, secluded beaches, lovely views, and a visit to Gardiki Castle.

  • Benitses is a popular resort town south of Corfu Town with its own marina, remains of a Roman Baths, an old town, and plenty of walks inland.

    Benítses

    Benitses is a popular resort town south of Corfu Town with its own marina, remains of a Roman Baths, an old town, and plenty of walks inland.

  • Angelokastro is a 13th-century hilltop fortress with breath-taking views near Paleokastritsa on the Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Islands.

    Angelokastro

    Angelokastro is a 13th-century hilltop fortress with breath-taking views near Paleokastritsa on the Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Islands.

  • Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in north-west and central Corfu including luxury mansions, inexpensive rooms, and resort hotels.

    Where to Stay in North-West and Central Corfu

    Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in north-west and central Corfu including luxury mansions, inexpensive rooms, and resort hotels.

  • Greece Travel Secrets picks where to stay in northern Corfu with budget and luxury hotels in Sidari, Daphnila Bay, Kontokali, Ipsos, Barbati and more.

    Where to Stay in Northern Corfu

    Greece Travel Secrets picks where to stay in northern Corfu with budget and luxury hotels in Sidari, Daphnila Bay, Kontokali, Ipsos, Barbati and more.

  • This guide to southern Corfu’s beaches and villages includes busy resorts, quiet beach, hill villages and the southernmost tip of Corfu at Cape Asprókavos.

    Southern Corfu Beaches and Villages

    This guide to southern Corfu’s beaches and villages includes busy resorts, quiet beach, hill villages and the southernmost tip of Corfu at Cape Asprókavos.

  • North-West Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts, quiet beaches, hill villages, and places ideal for watching the sunset,

    North-West Corfu Beaches and Villages

    North-West Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts, quiet beaches, hill villages, and places ideal for watching the sunset,

  • Northern Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts and secluded beaches, with several hill and mountain villages well worth visiting.

    Northern Corfu Beaches and Villages

    Northern Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts and secluded beaches, with several hill and mountain villages well worth visiting.

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