Customer Reviews

C. P. Cavafy: Collected Poems

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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 "Waiting for the Barbarians", that set apart this late 19th century-early 20th century Greek speaking poet who lived in Alexandria, Egypt from the other merely transgressive, but certainly not transcendent, purveyors of illicit literary pleasures.

I almost didn't bother to pick up the Mendelsohn translation when I saw it in a Sydney bookstore this week, because in my mind I had long ago pigeon-holed Cavafy as a second tier poet of historically subtle poems and of ardent, but somewhat tiresome, gay eroticism.

I am so glad that I bought this book. Reading Cavafy in Mendelsohn's translation is a revelation, a rebirth of a splendid poetic sensibility, and also one of the sure signs of the maturity and stature of American culture in the 21st century, for Mendelsohn is an American. This edition is not simply an accidental conjunction between the poet and a scholar who happened to have a relationship with figures close to Cavafy, it is the union of two complementary and deeply sympathetic spirits, that of Cavafy himself and Mendelsohn. We seem to be emerging from a generation-long desert of American cultural mediocrity imposed upon us by the spiritual tyranny of Theory.

Everything about this edition is first class and saturated in learning and great artistic insight. The scholarly apparatus is extensive but non-intrusive and always edifying. Mendelsohn seems to be that rare scholar who is generous in spirit, repeatedly referring in the text by name to colleagues who have made contributions he considers significant to understanding Cavafy--rather than relegating them to footnotes. The way he has chosen to organise the poems, with characteristic thoughtfulness and sympathy, is far superior to the order in Keeley & Sherrard.

I have found it a deeply moving experience to read Cavafy's poetry in this edition. Please note this review doesn't contain even a hint of the wonders of the poetry itself: I want to preserve that as a pristine pleasure for anyone who choses to read Cavafy in this edition

Best english translation of the Cavafy Poems so far.
And the notes on the poems by the author are fundamental for a full compreensive and relaxing reading.
Great work.

If you enjoy themes of ancient and Byzantine Greece you will revel in this. Can't comment on translation but must assume it is well done to get publshed in such a handsome edition. One note of caution, many of the images allude to encounters with other men of all ranks and classes. Nevertheless,I got a very vivid picture of Alexandria both current (early 1900's) and ancient.It has a place of honor next to my edition of Robert Graves.
Gregory K. Tobkes
East Meadow, NY
[...]

I think this must be a really good translation. I read a review to that effect. But the few poems I have read are SO powerful. He is a great writer. I am not really a poetry person, but find Cavafy so emotionally evocative.

This volume is a real pleasure to read. Start with the introduction to get grounded; then read the poems; then skim through the extensive notes on the poems in the back of the book; then return to the poems you really liked to reread them AND the notes that go with them. Getting to know Cavafy is well worth the time.

I did not find the second volume satisfying, however. The unfinished poems were not up to the ones in the main volume. I'd skip it.

The two books, the second containing unpublished material, are beautiful.
For anyone who appreciates things Egyptian, Greek, poetic, as well as homoerotic, these two books are a wonderful addition to a personal library as well as a source of constant delight, and particularly the translation done by Mendelsohn. i congratlate him and any others involved with the publication.

The introduction and the nots by Daniel Mendelson help me a lot to understand the poetry of Cavafy/

Wonderful new translation and so subtly nuanced I had a greater appreciation for some of my favorite poetry.

Cavafis is a wonderful poet and even a bad translation of his work reads well. This one is a fussy, pretentious, mind-numbingly pedantic effort, not to mention expensive. The volumes published by Princeton and by Harvest may not be as complete but they are more accessible than this. There is no need to join the ego trip that this translator is obviously on.