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71st out of 975 books
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1,012 voters
Collected Poems
C. P. Cavafy (1863-1933) lived in relative obscurity in Alexandria, and a collected edition of his poems was not published until after his death. Now, however, he is regarded as the most important figure in twentieth-century Greek poetry, and his poems are considered among the most powerful in modern European literature. Here is an extensively revised edition of the acclai...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
September 8th 1992
by Princeton University Press
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Η χρονιά που διανύουμε είναι αφιερωμένη στο μεγάλο ποιητής της Αλεξάνδρειας που κατάφερε να διακριθεί με το λιτό, απέριττο και ειρωνικό ποιητικό του λόγο αγγίζοντας διαχρονικά θέματα όπως η ήττα, ο θάνατος και τα γηρατειά.
Βαθιά τραγική ποίηση με φιλοσοφικές προεκτάσεις, σκηνικό θεατρικό, λανθάνουσα ειρωνεία, υποβλητική ατμόσφαιρα, αυτοσαρκασμός, αίσθηση τραγικότητας και αδιεξόδου! Η Καβαφική ποίηση είναι επίκαιρη και διαχρονική - το καταφύγιο του σύγχρονου δοκιμαζόμενου ανθρώπου τόσο από τις εξωτερικές καταστάσεις όσο και από τα εσωτερικά εμπόδια που στήνουν "τείχη" και απομακρύνουν από την Ιθάκη...
من أجمل ما قرأت هذا العام
هذه الترجمة الجميلة للأعمال الكاملة للشاعر اليوناني السكندري قسطنطين كفافيس أعتبرها ضمن الكتب الأساسية أو المرجعية التي أضعها في متناول اليد للرجوع إليها كل حين, على اعتبار أن الإنسان لن ينتهي أبدا من قراءتها, مثلها في ذلك مثل كتب الملاحم والأساطير والكتب المقدسة, ومثل أعمال شكسبير وهوميروس ونجيب محفوظ وفرناندو بيسوا وكل شعراء وأدباء الإنسانية العظام
شعر كفافيس يمكن أن يوصف بالوصف الشائع "السهل الممتنع" وذلك لسهولة فهم شعره وطريقته المباشرة - بل وأحيانا التي تبدو "تعليمي...more
هذه الترجمة الجميلة للأعمال الكاملة للشاعر اليوناني السكندري قسطنطين كفافيس أعتبرها ضمن الكتب الأساسية أو المرجعية التي أضعها في متناول اليد للرجوع إليها كل حين, على اعتبار أن الإنسان لن ينتهي أبدا من قراءتها, مثلها في ذلك مثل كتب الملاحم والأساطير والكتب المقدسة, ومثل أعمال شكسبير وهوميروس ونجيب محفوظ وفرناندو بيسوا وكل شعراء وأدباء الإنسانية العظام
شعر كفافيس يمكن أن يوصف بالوصف الشائع "السهل الممتنع" وذلك لسهولة فهم شعره وطريقته المباشرة - بل وأحيانا التي تبدو "تعليمي...more
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I was introduced to Greek poet C.P. Cavafy's work by Elizabeth Hand's Waking the Moon. The particular poem published in this book, In the Evening,...I wasn't quite prepared for it to captivate me and drench me into a state of bitter sweet melancholy and nostalgia. A fitting poem for a fascinating book. Determined to find out more about this poet, I then found the canon on the Internet. Such a treasure to discover.
I am confused however by the numerous translations. The versions differ, sometimes...more
I am confused however by the numerous translations. The versions differ, sometimes...more
Nov 04, 2008
Wayne
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lyric lovers
Recommended to Wayne by:
Dina, my Greek student
You never ever quite finish with a book of poetry. It is always waiting to be dipped into...always.
Like old friends,
a reunion is always on the cards and always a pleasure.
You go to poets or write poetry to get questions answered or to see the questions perfectly put. Or for some clarification. Not surprisingly, I was tempted to put the poetry books on the philosophy shelf. But they do deserve a shelf of their own.
Sadly many people don't feel comfortable around poetry.It makes me frustrated, the...more
Like old friends,
a reunion is always on the cards and always a pleasure.
You go to poets or write poetry to get questions answered or to see the questions perfectly put. Or for some clarification. Not surprisingly, I was tempted to put the poetry books on the philosophy shelf. But they do deserve a shelf of their own.
Sadly many people don't feel comfortable around poetry.It makes me frustrated, the...more
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5 stars doesn't mean that every poem here is a gem, but enough of them are gems to rank Cavafy very high. And the translator's notes are very helpful, especially on the poems set in the Byzantine and Hellenistic empires (which are, in my opinion, the best poems, as a general rule). Cavafy is sly, understated, full of heart.
"Major Literary Event," is a term marketing departments in publishing houses are overusing, but it's the term that seems to describe this book best. I have long enjoyed the dazzling wit, clarity and erudition of Daniel Mendelsohn's prose in his reviews for NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, and his magesterial introduction to this book exhibits the same qualities as he tells us about Cavafy's life, his work, his demons, his craft. As for the poems Medelsohn excruciatingly translated: they are plain, quie...more
I've read other translations of Cavafy, most recently the newer one by Daniel Mendelsohn and that of Aliki Barnstone, published in 2006. Though this, by Rae Dalven, is earlier than either of those, I liked it very much if not more. This seems especially supple and relaxed. I think it's totally comfortable with itself, not at all self-conscious or pointing to the fact that this is a translation of an acclaimed and extraordinary body of work. Another pleasure here is that for the first time in rea...more
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Cavafy's mixture of two primary subjects -- antiquity and and his life as gay man in Alexandria -- can seem an odd one at first, and though I've tried to find a strong thematic link between the two, at best, I hear a similar tone of nostalgia and loss in his treatment of these subjects. This seemingly disparate subjects, however, make for a pleasurably evolving reading experience.
Initially, I found C's famous poems about antiquity the more appealing ones; for a man fascinated with the distant p...more
Initially, I found C's famous poems about antiquity the more appealing ones; for a man fascinated with the distant p...more
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I actually have the paperback edition of this volume which includes the unfinished poems as well. It's a good idea to go that route since many of the unfinished poems would seem to be pretty close to "finished", or at least they read wonderfully.
Mendelsohn, the translator, needs to be praised on two fronts. Firstly as a translator he is sensitive to the subtetly of rhythmn and rhyme with this poet. Cavafy is not unmusical, it's more that his musicality is mininal and austere. Second, the notes t...more
Mendelsohn, the translator, needs to be praised on two fronts. Firstly as a translator he is sensitive to the subtetly of rhythmn and rhyme with this poet. Cavafy is not unmusical, it's more that his musicality is mininal and austere. Second, the notes t...more
Translation is a difficult task, and I hesitate to rate them harshly. But in this case, there are several better translations already available (contrary to what the goodreads entry says, this edition was not originally published in 1979; the entries for the differing Cavafy translations seem all mixed together) so it strikes me as both pointless and hubristic to produce another at all, much less pronounce it "an extraordinary literary event".
Mendelsohn entirely loses the sensuality that charac...more
Mendelsohn entirely loses the sensuality that charac...more
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I happened to find a used copy recently of Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard's original translation of C.P. Cavafy's Collected Poems from 1975. I have owned their revised, in-print edition (1992) for years and was shocked to discover I much prefer their earlier translations. There are not huge changes here--it's often a subtle reordering of words or a minor change in word-choice, but still, they're noticeable changes that sometimes drsatically alter, in my opinion, the meanings of the poems as I...more
This is a feast of a book.
Thirty years ago I acquired the translation by Keeley & Sherrard, who were friends of the great Cavafy scholar George Seferis . . . at that time, Cavafy was one of those forbidden pleasures like the PARIS AND NEW YORK DIARIES OF NED ROREM, and OUR LADY OF FLOWERS by Jean Genet that were available in serious LA and New York bookshops of the period.
I was bored by Rorem and Gide, but there were a few great Cavafy poems, it seemed to me at the time, for example "Waitin...more
Thirty years ago I acquired the translation by Keeley & Sherrard, who were friends of the great Cavafy scholar George Seferis . . . at that time, Cavafy was one of those forbidden pleasures like the PARIS AND NEW YORK DIARIES OF NED ROREM, and OUR LADY OF FLOWERS by Jean Genet that were available in serious LA and New York bookshops of the period.
I was bored by Rorem and Gide, but there were a few great Cavafy poems, it seemed to me at the time, for example "Waitin...more
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One of the world's best poets. Even better in Greek also... Includes phrases that have now entered popular culture, such as it is not the destination that counts but the journey... Which is from the poem Ithaca:
"As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon-don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spi...more
"As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon-don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spi...more
This new and acclaimed translation of the 20th century Greek poet, C.P. Cavafy, by Daniel Mendelsohn is one I’ve long wanted to read. The only Cavafy poem I have read previously is “Ithaca,” and I’ve looked forward to reading more, so my finding this book unexpectedly at the public library was felicitous.
I like Cavafy’s classical allusions and his introspection, his invitation to examine one’s life just where one is, in this moment. His poems invite one to see beyond the surface of classical Gre...more
I like Cavafy’s classical allusions and his introspection, his invitation to examine one’s life just where one is, in this moment. His poems invite one to see beyond the surface of classical Gre...more
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Jun 19, 2009
Clare
added it
Undecided. There is a snazzy new translation available (which I did not read) that might change my mind considerably...the collection I read gives his poems in chronological order, and they tend to get better as he gets older - perhaps because his lust/yearning/whatever for very pretty young men (they tend to be "twenty-three" or "twenty-four") becomes more painful, more serious, more interesting...a knowledge of Alexandria/the Classical world is helpful, too. I think some have accused C.P. Cava...more
Cavafy's writing walks through history, collegially, and amusingly engages its arcane, Classical characters: "So we're getting closer to arriving, Hermippus./The day after tomorrow, I daresay; so said the captain. At least we're sailing on our seas:" ("Homecoming from Greece [1914]") I had a strange misty sensation of being welcomed, too, in this time travel. Leaders, musicians, or poets are assessed, their life's details embellished with words looking through the time as if on anachronistic Ste...more
God, if I could write like this, I would -- well, I wouldn't be me, but I would have an awesome amount of knowledge about Classical, Late Antiquity, and Modern Greece and Egypt. And be a far more generous person. This is the book that reminds me that Alexandria was a Hellenistic city for a damn long time, a book that overflows with compassion and empathy, a book which moves seamlessly between paganism and early Christianity. I wish there were more notes, but I can understand why Keeley, Sherrard...more
But the windows are not found, or I cannot
find them. And perhaps it is better I do not find them.
Perhaps the light will be a new tyranny.
Who knows what new things it will show?
Cavafy
find them. And perhaps it is better I do not find them.
Perhaps the light will be a new tyranny.
Who knows what new things it will show?
Cavafy
This comprehensive collection of the poetry of C. P. Cavafy, translated by Daniel Mendelsohn and published in 2009 was an unexpected bridge from the present (my present) to the past (Cavafy's and beyond to the time of ancient civilization). Mendelsohn masterfully translates, edits and curates this collection. The thorough introduction merits a second glance after finishing the collection. Poems are presented in blocks of published, unpublished and "repudiated." Chronological care is taken within...more
I am particularly fond of this book. I acquired it back in 1977, the year in which I discovered Cavafy. I like to look at the old fashioned photo on the cover. The poet has a mournfully introspective expression on his effeminately smooth face, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was on the point of taking the handkerchief out of his breast pocket, removing his spectacles, and wiping away a tear. His silk tie looks sleek and sensual, a male adornment waiting to be caressed.
What appealed to me was h...more
What appealed to me was h...more
I was introduced to Greek poet C.P. Cavafy's work by Elizabeth Hand's Waking the Moon. The particular poem published in this book, In the Evening,...I wasn't quite prepared for it to captivate me and drench me into a state of bitter sweet melancholy and nostalgia. A fitting poem for a fascinating book. Determined to find out more about this poet, I then found the canon on the Internet. Such a treasure to discover.
I am confused however by the numerous translations. The versions differ, sometimes...more
I am confused however by the numerous translations. The versions differ, sometimes...more
Here is why I think Cavafy is one fo the 20th century's great poets, here is his poem about Antony after he looses the battle of Actium and is forced to flee back to Alexandria, waiting for Augustus to come and kill him - and cavafy imagines the great City abandoning Antony to his fate:
The god forsakes Antony
When suddenly, at midnight, you hear
an invisible procession going by
with exquisite music, voices,
don’t mourn your luck that’s failing now,
work gone wrong, your plans
all proving deceptive—don...more
The god forsakes Antony
When suddenly, at midnight, you hear
an invisible procession going by
with exquisite music, voices,
don’t mourn your luck that’s failing now,
work gone wrong, your plans
all proving deceptive—don...more
I have been reading Daniel Mendelsohn's translations of Cavafy: Collected Poems and Unfinished Poems. I have read Rae Dalven's translation of his collected poems, and while I enjoyed them, I continued to migrate my favorite modern Greek poet: Seferis. Mendelsohn's translations are revelatory. I have had several friends tell me that Cavafy's poems read in the original Greek are delicious and beautiful, but, alas, I don't understand Greek. Mendelsohn performs some magic here though.
First and forem...more
First and forem...more
I own 2 other translations of Cavafy, those of Aliki Barnstone and Edmund Keeley along with Philip Sherrard. My original intent was to reread those simultaneously with this of Daniel Mendelsohn but in the end didn't feel that ambitious. I'd thought this translation and its accompanying notes would combine into a vaultingly good read and a comprehensive understanding of Cavafy's work, but by the time I completed the book I didn't feel that way. The brief comparisons I've made haven't led me to th...more
May 05, 2009
Jim Coughenour
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reconditepoetry
I first encountered Cavafy in the Rae Dalven edition back in the early 80s and immediately fell in love with him. No one has ever fused the poetic ache of eros, memory, sordid physicality and exalted historical consciousness as profoundly as Cavafy – a bookish, unattractive Greek Jew homosexual living in Alexandria at the start of the 20th century. His simplest poems still leave me, sometimes, with a pain and wonder so deep I barely breathe – exactly as you feel when you remember someone you've...more
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I've read Cavafy before, in the Keeley-Sherrard and/or Dalven versions, but was curious about this new edition, both for the editorial apparatus and the novelty of having Greek which I can't read alongside the English. I also wanted to see if my opinions about Cavafy would change much in reading again, in new versions. I find once again that, like most lyric poets, Cavafy wrote more unexceptional than exceptional poems, and that "content" took precedence over form too much of the time (as far as...more
Jan 23, 2008
Robert Beveridge
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
finished,
owned-and-gave-away
C. P. Cavafy, Complete Poems (Harvest, 1961)
In his introduction to this book, W. H. Auden repeatedly stresses that there are elements in the poems of Cavafy, "the foremost modern Greek poet" (in the defense of the publisher, Seferis and Ritsos had not yet emerged as major forces, and Odysseus Elytis was still a few years away from winning the Nobel Prize), that are untranslatable. That is true (as he goes on to say) about most works in translation, but when Auden describes the structure of Cavaf...more
In his introduction to this book, W. H. Auden repeatedly stresses that there are elements in the poems of Cavafy, "the foremost modern Greek poet" (in the defense of the publisher, Seferis and Ritsos had not yet emerged as major forces, and Odysseus Elytis was still a few years away from winning the Nobel Prize), that are untranslatable. That is true (as he goes on to say) about most works in translation, but when Auden describes the structure of Cavaf...more
I discovered Cavafy via Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet"... And found this translation at the old Atticus Books in New Haven. I've been entranced by Cavafy's poetry since I was eighteen... I've read his "In 200 BC" and "The God Abandons Antony" to classes, and read his love poems (a few pronouns suitably altered) to girls in my Past.
And how can one not read his "Exiles" and not sigh?
Cavafy was a Greek living in Alexandria at turn of the last century--- one of the last generations of Gree...more
And how can one not read his "Exiles" and not sigh?
Cavafy was a Greek living in Alexandria at turn of the last century--- one of the last generations of Gree...more
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Constantine P. Cavafy (also known as Konstantin or Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis, or Kavaphes; Greek Κωνσταντίνος Π. Καβάφης) was a major Greek poet who worked as a journalist and civil servant. He has been called a skeptic and a neo-pagan. In his poetry he examines critically some aspects of Christianity, patriotism, and homosexuality, though he was not always comfortable with his role as a nonconf...more
More about C.P. Cavafy...
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“Επιθυμίες
Σαν σώματα ωραία νεκρών που δεν εγέρασαν
και τάκλεισαν, με δάκρυα, σε μαυσωλείο λαμπρό,
με ρόδα στο κεφάλι και στα πόδια γιασεμιά --
έτσ' η επιθυμίες μοιάζουν που επέρασαν
χωρίς να εκπληρωθούν· χωρίς ν' αξιωθεί καμιά
της ηδονής μια νύχτα, ή ένα πρωϊ της φεγγερό."
Desires
"Like beautiful bodies of the dead who had not grown old
and they shut them, with tears, in a brilliant mausoleum,
with roses at the head and jasmine at the feet --
this is what desires resemble that have passed
without fulfillment; without any of them having achieved
a night of sensual delight, or a morning of brightness.”
—
38 people liked it
Σαν σώματα ωραία νεκρών που δεν εγέρασαν
και τάκλεισαν, με δάκρυα, σε μαυσωλείο λαμπρό,
με ρόδα στο κεφάλι και στα πόδια γιασεμιά --
έτσ' η επιθυμίες μοιάζουν που επέρασαν
χωρίς να εκπληρωθούν· χωρίς ν' αξιωθεί καμιά
της ηδονής μια νύχτα, ή ένα πρωϊ της φεγγερό."
Desires
"Like beautiful bodies of the dead who had not grown old
and they shut them, with tears, in a brilliant mausoleum,
with roses at the head and jasmine at the feet --
this is what desires resemble that have passed
without fulfillment; without any of them having achieved
a night of sensual delight, or a morning of brightness.”
“Ithaka
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.”
—
18 people liked it
More quotes…
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.”
