<\/p>\n
The literary importance of C. P. Cavafy lies not only in his knowledge of so many subjects and in the large number of his poems, prose pieces and translations. Through short, precise verses, with very few words, he could create an entire world and wisely ask the reader some important questions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n “And if you can’t shape your life the way you want…”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n He was never awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature, but the institution was relatively fresh during his time, and his work not as well-known back then as it is today. Two other Greek poets, George Seferis and Odysseus Elytis, got the Nobel in the 60s and in the late 70s, respectively.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Cavafy has been compared to Pessoa, although the subjects of his poetry and his style have nothing in common with the famous Portuguese poet’s. Or do they? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n They both are lighthouses shining upon the world, standing alone, standing apart. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The lighthouse of Lisbon went off in 1935, the lighthouse of Alexandria, C.P.Cavafy, had faded two years before, in 1933. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In Greece where I come from, he is a household name. There are at least three of his poems that people use so extensively that it makes them lose all their power of symbolism, becoming commonplace quotations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Cavafy lived in Alexandria, Egypt, a member of the large Greek community in the city, and wrote his poetry in a slightly idiomatic language. His preferred themes were the history of the Hellenistic era and some lesser known incidents of that time, as well as his homosexuality, which was a source of trouble and guilt for him all his life. These were still very conservative times, and the poet would only hint at it in the poems he published, describing it mostly as a sin and a burden.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The poet was a familiar name in our household, as my own grandfather had met this legendary figure in person. My own poems, I admit, are greatly influenced by Cavafy\u2019s philosophy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Those who have read The Alexandria Quartet by L.Durrell surely know who Cavafy was. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There is much to be admired in his poetry, but I\u2019m not sure how his characteristic style can be translated into other languages. Yet, it is not so much the music of the verses that is so important; mostly it is the ideas, the atmosphere of his historical and mythological poems.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n A parade of personalities such as Cleopatra and Ulysses come alive before our eyes, as do the first Christians and the Byzantine kings and their moral dilemmas.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Cavafy\u2019s Ithaca<\/em> is his best-known poem, resonating with the idea that what matters in our life is not the arrival at a place but the journey itself, with all the experiences which we have gathered along the way. He was probably the first author of modern times to come up with this concept. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n His heroic Thermopylae<\/em> talks about high values and sacrifice, whereas his poem Waiting for the Barbarians is an allegory about certainty, anxiety, the cancellation of plans. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n His erotic poems reflect his agony to buy love once more in the tavernas and the brothels of the city where young boys are selling their body. These poems belong to another category, but they are not lesser than the first ones.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The dark basements, the seedy bars, the bodies in the act of love, but also the feelings for some of them, or the need to be loved and desired and remembered\u2026 all this by a respectable member of society, by a cultivated man who worked as a clerk at the Ministry of Public Works.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n If you still haven\u2019t had the chance to encounter Cavafy during your literary adventures, maybe you will be happy to let this lighthouse of Alexandria guide you through centuries of Greek history.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The literary importance of C.P.Cavafy\u2019s lies not only in his knowledge of so many subjects and in the large number of his poems, prose pieces and translations. Through short, precise verses, with very few words, he can create an entire world and wisely ask the reader some important questions. \u201cAnd if you can\u2019t shape your life the way you want\u2026\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n If you still didn\u2019t have the chance to encounter Cavafy during your literary adventures, maybe you will be happy to let this lighthouse of Alexandria guide you through centuries of Greek history, as for example in the beautiful Of coloured glass<\/em>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I am very moved by one detail You will let him introduce you to his subtle irony and his moral criticism in the Alexandrian kings <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Alexandrians turned out in force Finally, you will want to come back to Cavafy\u2019s poetry and discover the might of his feelings<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Come back often and take hold of me, <\/p>\n https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Constantine_P._Cavafy<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nin the coronation at Vlachernai of John Kantakuzinos
\nand Irini, daughter of Andronikos Asan.
\nBecause they had only a few precious stones
\n(our afflicted empire was extremely poor)
\nthey wore artificial ones: numerous pieces of glass,
\nred, green, or blue. I find
\nnothing humiliating or undignified
\nin those little pieces of colored glass.
\nOn the contrary, they seem
\na sad protest against
\nthe unjust misfortune of the couple being crowned,
\nsymbols of what they deserved to have,
\nof what surely it was right that they should have
\nat their coronation\u2014a Lord John Kantakuzinos,
\na Lady Irini, daughter of Andronikos Asan. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nto see Cleopatra\u2019s children,
\nKaisarion and his little brothers,
\nAlexander and Ptolemy, who for the first time
\nhad been taken out to the Gymnasium,
\nto be proclaimed kings there
\nbefore a brilliant array of soldiers.
\n
\nAlexander: they declared him
\nking of Armenia, Media, and the Parthians.
\nPtolemy: they declared him
\nking of Cilicia, Syria, and Phoenicia.
\nKaisarion was standing in front of the others,
\ndressed in pink silk,
\non his chest a bunch of hyacinths,
\nhis belt a double row of amethysts and sapphires,
\nhis shoes tied with white ribbons
\nprinked with rose-colored pearls.
\nThey declared him greater than his little brothers,
\nthey declared him King of Kings.
\n
\nThe Alexandrians knew of course
\nthat this was all mere words, all theatre.
\n
\nBut the day was warm and poetic,
\nthe sky a pale blue,
\nthe Alexandrian Gymnasium
\na complete artistic triumph,
\nthe courtiers wonderfully sumptuous,
\nKaisarion all grace and beauty
\n(Cleopatra\u2019s son, blood of the Lagids);
\nand the Alexandrians thronged to the festival
\nfull of enthusiasm, and shouted acclamations
\nin Greek, and Egyptian, and some in Hebrew,
\ncharmed by the lovely spectacle\u2014
\nthough they knew of course what all this was worth,
\nwhat empty words they really were, these kingships. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nsensation that I love come back and take hold of me\u2014
\nwhen the body\u2019s memory awakens
\nand an old longing again moves into the blood,
\nwhen lips and skin remember
\nand hands feel as though they touch again.
\n
\nCome back often, take hold of me in the night
\nwhen lips and skin remember… <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n