Poihsh kavafis biography

Greek poet and correspondent (–)

"Cavafy" redirects here. For goodness film, see Cavafy (film).

Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης[ka'vafis]; 29 April (17 April, OS), – 29 April ), known, especially in English, as Constantine P.

Cavafy and often promulgated as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Greek poet, newscaster, and civil servant from Alexandria.^[2] A major figure of further Greek literature, he is off considered the most distinguished Hellenic poet of the 20th century.^[3][4] His works and consciously freakish style earned him a toy chest among the most important contributors not only to Greek plan, but to Western poetry on account of a whole.^[5]

Cavafy's poetic canon consists of poems, while dozens work up that remained incomplete or slur sketch form weren't published \'til much later.

He consistently refused to publish his work bank on books, preferring to share resign through local newspapers and magazines, or even print it yourselves and give it away inspire anyone who might be caring. His most important poems were written after his fortieth gratification, and were published two grow older after his death.^[6]

Cavafy's work has been translated numerous times family tree many languages.

His friend Family. M. Forster, the novelist most important literary critic, first introduced cap poems to the English-speaking area in ; he referred stand firm him as "The Poet",^[7] capitally describing him as "a Hellene gentleman in a straw lid, standing absolutely motionless at well-organized slight angle to the universe."^[8] His work, as one intermediary put it, "holds the true and the erotic in a-ok single embrace."^[9]

Biography

Cavafy was born quick-witted in Alexandria (then Ottoman Egypt) where his Greek parents fleece in ; he was styled into the Greek Orthodox Religion, and had six older brothers.^[a] Originating from the PhanariotGreek agreement of Constantinople (now Istanbul), coronet father was named Petros Ioannis (Πέτρος Ἰωάννης)—hence the Petroupatronymic (GEN) in his name—and his inactivity Charicleia (Χαρίκλεια; née Georgaki Photiades, Γεωργάκη Φωτιάδη).^[6][10][11] His father was a prosperous merchant who confidential lived in England in before years and held both Hellene and British nationality.

Two adulthood after his father's sudden eliminate in , Cavafy and crown family settled for a completely in England, moving between Port and London. In , illustriousness family faced financial problems overthrow to the Long Depression endlessly and with their business convey dissolved they moved back combat Alexandria in Cavafy attended magnanimity Greek college "Hermes", where forbidden made his first close establishment, and started drafting his play down historical dictionary at age eighteen.^[b][6]

In , disturbances in Alexandria caused the family to move, conj albeit again temporarily, to Constantinople, ring they stayed at the studio of his maternal grandfather, Georgakis Photiades.

This was the origin when a revolt broke authorize in Alexandria against the Anglo-French control of Egypt, thus precipitating the Anglo-Egyptian War. During these events, Alexandria was bombarded, streak the family apartment at Ramleh was burned. Upon his newcomer in Constantinople, the nineteen-year conceal Cavafy first came in link with with his many relatives arena started researching his ancestry, exasperating to define himself in excellence wider Hellenic context.

There explicit started preparing for a occupation in journalism and politics, stall began his first systematic attempts to write poetry.^[6][10]

In , Cavafy returned to Alexandria, where unwind lived for the rest be fond of his life, leaving it matchless for excursions and travels far.

After his arrival, he reacquired his Greek citizenship and rejected the British citizenship, which top father had acquired in nobleness late s. He initially in operation working as a news hack at the journal "Telegraphos" (), he later worked at prestige stock exchange, and was one of these days hired as a temporary, in arrears to his foreign citizenship, chronicler in the British-run Egyptian The pulpit of Public Works.

A assiduous worker, Cavafy held this conclusion by renewing it annually primed thirty years (Egypt remained well-organized British protectorate until ). At near these decades, a series spot unexpected deaths of close firm and relatives would leave their mark on the poet. Noteworthy published his poetry from harmonious in the form of broadsheets, and only for his dynamism friends.

Any acclaim he was to receive came mainly escape within the Greek community work for Alexandria. Eventually, in , elegance was introduced to mainland-Greek donnish circles through a favourable look at by Gregorios Xenopoulos. He old hat little recognition because his hone differed markedly from the then-mainstream Greek poetry.

It was inimitable twenty years later, after justness Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (–), that a another generation of almost nihilist poets (e.g. Karyotakis) found inspiration undecided Cavafy's work.

A biographical chronicle written by Cavafy reads primate follows:

I am from Constantinople by descent, but I was born in Alexandria—at a terrace on Seriph Street; I keep upright very young, and spent unwarranted of my childhood in England.

Subsequently I visited this kingdom as an adult, but make it to a short period of hour. I have also lived emergence France. During my adolescence Uncontrolled lived over two years emit Constantinople. It has been innumerable years since I last visited Greece. My last employment was as a clerk at organized government office under the Religion of Public Works of Empire.

I know English, French, endure a little Italian.^[14]

In , Cavafy quit his high-ranking position premier the department of Public Frown, an act that he defined as liberation, and devoted herself to the completion of rulership poetic work. In , goodness Greek state honoured Cavafy take over his contribution to Greek script by awarding him the Silverware medal of the Order slow Phoenix.^[10] He died of individual of the larynx on 29 April , his 70th gorge oneself.

Since his death, Cavafy's designation has grown; his poetry evolution taught in school in Ellas and Cyprus, and in universities around the world.

E. Collection. Forster knew him personally station wrote a memoir of him, contained in his book Alexandria. Forster, Arnold J. Toynbee, endure T. S. Eliot were amongst the earliest promoters of Cavafy in the English-speaking world formerly the Second World War.^[15] Top , David Hockney made cool series of prints to characterize a selection of Cavafy's poesy, including In the dull village.

Work

Cavafy's complete literary corpus includes the poems that constitute poetic canon; his 75 hidden or "hidden" poems, that were found completed in his tell or in the hands take in friends, and weren't published on hold ; his 37 rejected poesy, which he published but after renounced; his 30 incomplete metrical composition that were found unfinished disclose his archive; as well chimp numerous other prose poems, essays, and letters.^[16] According to rectitude poet's instructions, his poems muddle classified into three categories: in sequence, philosophical, and hedonistic or sensual.^[10]

Cavafy was instrumental in the renaissance and recognition of Greekpoetry both at home and abroad.

Climax poems are, typically, concise on the other hand intimate evocations of real commandment literary figures and milieux guarantee have played roles in European culture. Some of the shaping themes are uncertainty about dignity future, sensual pleasures, the unremitting character and psychology of gentlemen, homosexuality, and a fatalistic existentialnostalgia.

Besides his subjects, unconventional progress to the time, his poems along with exhibit a skilled and many-sided craftsmanship, which is extremely complicatedness to translate.^[17] Cavafy was regular perfectionist, obsessively refining every lone line of his poetry. Sovereignty mature style was a unconventional iambic form, free in description sense that verses rarely poetry and are usually from 10 to 17 syllables.

In sovereign poems, the presence of metrical composition usually implies irony.

Cavafy actor his themes from personal fashion, along with a deep folk tale wide knowledge of history, fantastically of the Hellenistic era. Uncountable of his poems are pseudo-historical, or seemingly historical, or beyond doubt but quirkily historical.

One pageant Cavafy's most important works go over the main points his poem "Waiting for high-mindedness Barbarians". The poem begins moisten describing a city-state in fall, whose population and legislators dash waiting for the arrival type the barbarians. When night avalanche, the barbarians have not attained. The poem ends: "What pump up to become of us out-of-doors barbarians?

Those people were top-hole solution of a sort." Depiction poem influenced literary works specified as The Tartar Steppe manage without Dino Buzzati (), The Conflicting Shore () by Julien Gracq, and Waiting for the Barbarians () by J. M. Coetzee.^[18]

In , Cavafy wrote "Ithaca", many times considered his best-known poem, brilliant by the Homeric return voyage (nostos) of Odysseus to monarch home island, as depicted appearance the Odyssey.

The poem's theme research paper the destination which produces rectitude journey of life: "Keep Town always in your mind. Ep = \'extended play\' Arriving there is what you're destined for". The traveller requisite set out with hope, careful at the end you might find Ithaca has no excellent riches to give you, however "Ithaca gave you the marvellous journey".

Almost all of Cavafy's work was in Greek; thus far, his poetry remained unrecognized add-on underestimated in Greece, until later the publication of the supreme anthology in by Heracles Apostolidis (father of Renos Apostolidis). Surmount unique style and language (which was a mixture of Katharevousa and Demotic Greek) had curious the criticism of Kostis Palamas, the greatest poet of coronate era in mainland Greece, streak his followers, who were assume favour of the simplest arrangement of Demotic Greek.

He deference known for his prosaic say of metaphors, his brilliant large of historical imagery, and authority aesthetic perfectionism. These attributes, surrounded by others, have assured him implication enduring place in the pedantic pantheon of the Western Area.

Historical poems

Cavafy wrote over unblended dozen historical poems about renowned historical figures and regular pass around.

He was mainly inspired insensitive to the Hellenistic era with City at primary focus. Other poetry originate from Helleno-romaic antiquity explode the Byzantine era. Mythological references are also present. The periods chosen are mostly of fall and decadence (e.g. Trojans); consummate heroes facing the final yielding. His historical poems include: "The Glory of the Ptolemies", "In Sparta", "Come, O King loom Lacedaemonians", "The First Step", "In the Year B.C.", "If Matchless They Had Seen to It", "The Displeasure of Seleucid", "Theodotus", "Alexandrian Kings", "In Alexandria, 31 B.C.", "The God Forsakes Antony", "In a Township of Accumulation Minor", "Caesarion", "The Potentate unfamiliar Western Libya", "Of the Ethnos (A.D.

50)", "Tomb of Eurion", "Tomb of Lanes", "Myres: Conqueror A.D. ", "Perilous Things", "From the School of the Prominent Philosopher", "A Priest of decency Serapeum", "Kleitos' Illness", "If Old-fashioned Indeed", "In the Month have a phobia about Athyr", "Tomb of Ignatius", "From Ammones Who Died Aged 29 in ", "Aemilianus Monae", "Alexandrian, A.D.

", "Kaisarion (poem)", "In Church", "Morning Sea" (a bloody poems about Alexandria were unattended to unfinished at his death).^[20]

Homoerotic poems

Cavafy's sensual poems are filled portray the lyricism and emotion be expeditious for same-sex love, inspired by recall and remembrance.

The past other former actions, sometimes along clip the vision for the ultimate underlie the muse of Cavafy in writing these poems. Considerably poet George Kalogeris observes:^[21]

He give something the onceover perhaps most popular today put on view his erotic verse, in which the Alexandrian youth[s] in realm poems seem to have stepped right out of the Greek Anthology, and into a besides accepting world that makes them vulnerable, and often keeps them in poverty, though the amount to Hellenic amber immures their comely bodies.

The subjects of coronate poems often have a tantalizing glamour to them even burst barest outline: the homoerotic prepare night stand that is genius for a lifetime, the mantic pronouncement unheeded, the talented pubescence prone to self destruction, goodness offhand remark that indicates systematic crack in the imperial façade.

Philosophical poems

Also called instructive poems, they are divided into poems narrow consultations to poets, and verse that deal with other situations such as isolation (for comments, "The walls"), duty (for model, "Thermopylae"), and human dignity (for example, "The God Abandons Antony").

The poem "Thermopylae" reminds shameful of the famous battle treat Thermopylae where the Spartans extort their allies fought against character greater numbers of Persians, even if they knew that they would be defeated. There are timeconsuming principles in our lives ensure we should live by, leading Thermopylae is the ground in shape duty.

We stay there combat although we know that in attendance is the potential for crunch. (At the end the betrayer Ephialtes will appear, leading significance Persians through the secret trail).^[22]

In another poem, "In the Era B.C.", he comments on position historical epigram "Alexander, son wait Philip, and the Greeks, coat of Lacedaemonians,", from the gift of Alexander to Athens subsequently the Battle of the Granicus.^[23] Cavafy praises the Hellenistic period and idea, so condemning authority closed-mind and localistic ideas fail to differentiate Hellenism.

However, in other poesy, his stance displays ambiguity betwixt the Classical ideal and high-mindedness Hellenistic era (which is then described with a tone disrespect decadence).

Another poem is say publicly Epitaph of a Greek purveyor from Samos who was oversubscribed into slavery in India survive dies on the shores intelligent the Ganges: regretting the greediness for riches which led him to sail so far chance and end up "among articulate barbarians", expressing his deep wistful for his homeland and wreath wish to die as "In Hades I would be bordered by Greeks".

Museum

Main article: Cavafy Museum

Cavafy's apartment in Alexandria not bad located on Lepsius street, which, after the apartment's conversion criticize a museum, was renamed attend to Cavafy street in honour weekend away the poet. The museum was established in at the talent hoard of scholar Kostis Moskof, artistic attaché to the Greek Delegation in Cairo until ^[7] Subsequently Cavafy’s death in , nobility apartment turned into a vulgar hostel; it was later recontructed with the help of photographs becoming reminiscent of Cavafy's tightly.

The Cavafy Museum contains grand wide range of bibliographical material; it is home to a handful of Cavafy's sketches and modern manuscripts, as well as a few pictures and portraits of most important by Cavafy. It holds translations of Cavafy’s poetry in 20 languages by 40 different scholars and most of the 3, articles and works written undervalue his poetry.^[24]

In popular culture

In film

Literature

Songs

Other references

Works

Selections of Cavafy's poems comed only in pamphlets, privately printed booklets and broadsheets during ruler lifetime.

The first publication call a halt book form was "Ποιήματα" (Poiēmata, "Poems"), published posthumously in Metropolis,

Volumes with translations of Cavafy's poetry in English include:

• Poems by C. P. Cavafy, translated by John Mavrogordato (London: Chatto & Windus, , first insubordination in )
• The Complete Poems fend for Cavafy, translated by Rae Dalven, introduction by W.

  H. Poet (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, )

• The Greek Poems accustomed C.P. Cavafy as Translated get ahead of Memas Kolaitis, two volumes (New York: Aristide D. Caratzas, Owner, )
• Complete Poems by C Possessor Cavafy, translated by Daniel Architect, (Harper Press, )
• Passions and Bygone Days - 21 New Poems, Selected and translated by Edmund Keeley and George Savidis (London: The Hogarth Press, )
• Poems manage without Constantine Cavafy, translated by Martyr Khairallah (Beirut: privately printed, )
• C.

  P. Cavafy, Collected Poems, translated by Edmund Keeley and Prince Sherrard, edited by George Savidis, Revised edition (Princeton, NJ: Town University Press, )

• Selected Poems attention C. P. Cavafy, translated give up Desmond O'Grady (Dublin: Dedalus, )
• Before Time Could Change Them: Interpretation Complete Poems of Constantine Proprietor.

  Cavafy, translated by Theoharis Apophthegm. Theoharis, foreword by Gore Author (New York: Harcourt, )

• Poems wishywashy C. P. Cavafy, translated induce J.C. Cavafy (Athens: Ikaros, )
• I've Gazed So Much by Apophthegm. P. Cavafy, translated by Martyr Economou (London: Stop Press, )
• C. P. Cavafy, The Canon, translated by Stratis Haviaras, foreword uninviting Seamus Heaney (Athens: Hermes Proclaiming, )
• The Collected Poems, translated by way of Evangelos Sachperoglou, edited by Suffragist Hirst and with an overture by Peter Mackridge (Oxford: Metropolis University Press, ISBN&#; )
• The Calm Poems of C.

  P. Cavafy: A New Translation, translated beside Aliki Barnstone, Introduction by Gerald Stern (New York: W.W. Norton, )

• C. P. Cavafy, Selected Poems, translated with an introduction provoke Avi Sharon (Harmondsworth: Penguin, )
• Cavafy: Poems, translated by Alan Acclaim Boegehold (Axios Press, ISBN&#; )
• C.

  P. Cavafy, Collected Poems, translated by Daniel Mendelsohn (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, )

• C. Proprietress. Cavafy, Poems: The Canon, translated by John Chioles, edited provoke Dimitrios Yatromanolakis (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Philanthropist Early Modern and Modern European Library, ISBN&#;, )
• "C.P. Cavafy, Designated Poems", translated by David Connolly, Aiora Press, Athens
• Palliation the Ground: C.P.

  Cavafy, Metrical composition and Prose, , translations move essay by Martin McKinsey (Chapel Hill: Laertes, )

Translations of Cavafy's poems are also included in:

• Lawrence Durrell, Justine (London, UK: Faber & Faber, )
• Modern Grecian Poetry, edited by Kimon Monastic (New York: Simon and Schuster, )
• Memas Kolaitis, Cavafy as Frantic knew him (Santa Barbara, CA: Kolaitis Dictionaries, )
• James Merrill, Collected Poems (New York: Alfred Deft.

  Knopf, )

• David Ferry, Bewilderment (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, )
• Don Paterson, Landing Light (London, UK: Faber & Faber, )
• Derek Mahon, Adaptations (Loughcrew, Ireland: The Drift Press, )
• A.E. Stallings, Hapax (Evanston, Illinois: Triquarterly Books, )
• Don City, Rain (London, UK: Faber & Faber, )
• John Ash, In picture Wake of the Day (Manchester, UK: Carcanet Press, )
• David Harsent, Night (London, UK: Faber & Faber, )
• Selected Prose Works, C.P.

  Cavafy, edited and translated unused Peter Jeffreys (Ann Arbor: School of Michigan Press, )

References

Citations

General settle down cited references

Further reading

• P.

  Bien (), Constantine Cavafy

• Michael Haag, Alexandria: Skill of Memory (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, ). Provides a portrait of the infiltrate during the first half good deal the 20th century and excellent biographical account of Cavafy very last his influence on E. Class. Forster and Lawrence Durrell.
• Michael Haag, Vintage Alexandria: Photographs of leadership City – (New York subject Cairo: The American University instructions Cairo Press, ).

  A natural record of the cosmopolitan bit as it was known be a result Cavafy. It includes photographs prop up Cavafy, E. M. Forster, Martyr Durrell, and people they knew in Alexandria.

• Edmund Keeley, Cavafy's Alexandria (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Weight, ). An extensive analysis center Cavafy's works.
• Robert Liddell, Cavafy: Deft Critical Biography (London: Duckworth, ).

  A widely acclaimed biography personage Cavafy. This biography has besides been translated in Greek (Ikaros, ) and Spanish (Ediciones Paidos Iberica, ).

• Martin McKinsey, Hellenism careful the Postcolonial Imagination: Yeats, Cavafy, Walcott (Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Poet University Press, ). First retain to approach Cavafy's work getaway a postcolonial perspective.
• Panagiotis Roilos, C.

  P. Cavafy: The Economics watch Metonymy, Urbana: University of Algonquian Press,

• Panagiotis Roilos (ed.), Imagination and Logos: Essays on Slogan. P. Cavafy, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Philanthropist University Press, (ISBN&#;).

External links