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C. P. Cavafy: Collected Poems - Bilingual Edition
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.
This revised bilingual edition of Collected Poems offers the reader the original Greek texts facing what are now recognized as the standard English translations of Cavafy's poetry. It is this translation that best captures the poet's mixture of formal and idiomatic language and that preserves the immediacy of his increasingly frank treatment of homosexual eroticism, his brilliant re-creation of history, and his astute political ironies. This new bilingual edition also features the notes of editor George Savidis and a new foreword by Robert Pinsky.
This revised bilingual edition of Collected Poems offers the reader the original Greek texts facing what are now recognized as the standard English translations of Cavafy's poetry. It is this translation that best captures the poet's mixture of formal and idiomatic language and that preserves the immediacy of his increasingly frank treatment of homosexual eroticism, his brilliant re-creation of history, and his astute political ironies. This new bilingual edition also features the notes of editor George Savidis and a new foreword by Robert Pinsky.
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Published March 8, 2022
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March 10, 2025
This is the most user-friendly edition of the poems of the person who was probably the greatest Greek poet (until I hear a convincing argument for another candidate) of the 20th century.
Cavafy (d. 1933) lived in Alexandria, Egypt, but this should in no way surprise students of Greek poetry and literature, since Cavafy's world-view encompassed a Hellenistic world which extended over most of the Mediterranean in ancient times, witnessed another flowering in the Eastern Roman Empire (directed by Constantinople, falling in 1453), and which maintained pockets of learning, culture, and Greek influence outside of geographic Greece into the 20th century.
This edition is particularly useful for those of us who try to muddle through the Greek versions of the poems, since it has the Greek and English.
Cavafy's poetry is distinguished in several ways, not the least of which is his vision of and presentation of Greek individuals and influence around the Mediterranean (including of course in Egypt), including his impactful "snapshots" of key moments in Greek and Roman history, and of course, his erotic poetry.
On the subject of his erotic poetry, writing in the 1910s and 20s, Cavafy nearly constitutes a one-person revolution.
Praise and thanks to Keeley, Sherrard, and editor Savidis. The historical notes to these poems are especially impressive.
Enjoy.
Cavafy (d. 1933) lived in Alexandria, Egypt, but this should in no way surprise students of Greek poetry and literature, since Cavafy's world-view encompassed a Hellenistic world which extended over most of the Mediterranean in ancient times, witnessed another flowering in the Eastern Roman Empire (directed by Constantinople, falling in 1453), and which maintained pockets of learning, culture, and Greek influence outside of geographic Greece into the 20th century.
This edition is particularly useful for those of us who try to muddle through the Greek versions of the poems, since it has the Greek and English.
Cavafy's poetry is distinguished in several ways, not the least of which is his vision of and presentation of Greek individuals and influence around the Mediterranean (including of course in Egypt), including his impactful "snapshots" of key moments in Greek and Roman history, and of course, his erotic poetry.
On the subject of his erotic poetry, writing in the 1910s and 20s, Cavafy nearly constitutes a one-person revolution.
Praise and thanks to Keeley, Sherrard, and editor Savidis. The historical notes to these poems are especially impressive.
Enjoy.
Displaying 1 of 1 review