Kavafy, Full Length

Uniquely this translation reproduces all Kavafy’s original poems - including the 92 ‘unpublished’ and ‘disowned’ poems which shed light on his development - while consistently rendering rhyme for rhyme, wit for wit, to convey his brilliant, idiosyncratic use of language. A major innovation, the sorting of poems by theme and mood, balances the poet’s inner life with his external world. A deliberately artificial division into sections, rather than chronological or random arrangement, allows the reader to appreciate and identify with individual areas of Kavafy’s concern; particularly in the ‘history’ poems, their background unfamiliar to today’s common reader. Each section is preceded by a short orienting survey; a general preface sketches broader aspects of the poet’s life, character and technique, and considers such themes as his place in postcolonial writing, his linguistic fieldwork, and the vexed question of ‘irony’ in his poems. For the reader wanting to follow up Kavafy’s personal circumstances, his historical references, and his (possible) engagement with the political realities of his own time, there are three detailed Timelines.