Constantine Cavafy: A New Biography

by Gregory Jusdanis, Peter Jeffreys

The first biography in nearly fifty years of the greatest Greek poet of the twentieth century.

This study of C. P. Cavafy’s life portrays the man as a flawed genius who changed the fate of world poetry. Seeking to capture the contradictions and perplexities of Cavafy’s life and poetry, Gregory Jusdanis and Peter Jeffreys move through the poet's life thematically

The book begins in Cavafy’s hospital room, where he lies dying among his friends, before turning to his family, chronicling the lives of his parents and siblings and detailing the vicissitudes of the family after his father’s death with moves to London, Liverpool, and Istanbul. Next, the biography zooms in on his beloved city, Alexandria, which nourished his imagination and which he converted into a metaphor both of his own poetry and of modern life. Cavafy's circle is examined, his childhood companions, the friends of middle age, and finally those individuals with whom he associated at the end of his life.

Constantine A New Biography also centers on the poetry itself, from Cavafy's first attempts to write verse to how, in middle age, he abandoned most of what he had previously written and developed the style that the world now knows as Cavafian. Further, his contradictions become apparent, as well as his crucial choice to sacrifice love for fame and a global reputation. .

Genres: Poetry, Biography

576 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2025

Reviews

[Ярослава · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley & Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At first glance, Cavafy might seem to be an unlikely candidate for an international literary sensation: a not-too-prolific poet writing in a minor language in a provincial town whose claim to fame lay millennia in the past, on the outskirts of two imperial projects (Greek and British) that were crumbling around him, in a world of global trade and culture that was becoming more exclusivist and nationalistic throughout his lifetime to eventually leave little room for his various hyphenated identities and make his brand of an “Egyptian Anglo-Greek with Constantinopolitan roots” an increasingly less viable option. In this new biography, Gregory Jusdanis and Peter Jeffreys seek to outline how Cavafy thwarted the odds and became the literary icon that he is, and they do so not by painting him as an outlier or a lone path-breaking genius but by contextualizing him as a product of his heritage, cultural and literary preoccupations, and milieu. His obsessive literary interest in cultural displacement and the ennui of living on the ruins, among departing or departed gods, are pinned to historical experiences of the era: the bombardment of Alexandria by the British navy that made the Cavafy family refugees for a while; the experience of living in Alexandria, with its Hellenistic past an invisible and immaterial ghost, etc.

While very thorough in its outlines of Cavafy’s friendships, family relations, reading and more, the text does not feel bogged down in details and is very stylishly written, with great turns of phrase like:

For a lifelong smoker living in a city known for its production of fine Egyptian tobacco, Constantine’s existence was seemingly bound by paper— cigarette paper and writing paper.

There are certain pages in his life that I’d like more details on (his friendship with Forster is one), and I’m not sure if we actually come any closer to answering the question of how he made it (for example, his dithering between self-promotion and indifference to translations, as well as his often off-putting self-centeredness do not seem helpful ingredients for success), but it was a fascinating read.

For further reading and an in-depth analysis of Cavafy’s literary strategies, I can recommend Daniel Mendelsohn’s richly annotated C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago, I discovered Cavafy while reading about Auden, and as a person of Greek descent, his work instantly resonated with me. I spent months hunting down a rare Russian edition, captivated by the promise of his poetic world. Yet, despite my best efforts, I never quite felt connected—until now.

This biography by Gregory Jusdanis and Peter Jeffreys transformed my relationship with Cavafy. It wasn’t just another recounting of dates and events; it was a thematic exploration that brought the man behind the poems to life. I found myself reaching for the well-worn volumes on my shelf, finally feeling and understanding everything I’d been reading all these years.

Admittedly, the narrative sometimes meanders—every other passage, the authors indulge in cinematic, romantic musings about Cavafy’s elusive love interests. Yet, rather than detracting from the work, these digressions add a dreamlike quality that mirrors the poet’s own enigmatic nature. I wholeheartedly understand the temptation to romanticize his life, and I might have done the same.

What truly impressed me was the structure of the book. Rather than following a straightforward chronological path, the thematic approach allowed me to appreciate not only Cavafy as a person but also the vibrant tapestry of the Greek diaspora across Alexandria, Constantinople, Britain, and Europe. This broader cultural context enriched my understanding of the poet’s world and deepened the impact of his verses.

While the book is undeniably dense, every page rewards the careful reader. I barely managed to finish it in the 60 days allotted for the advanced reader copy—a journey that was as challenging as it was satisfying. For anyone willing to invest the time, I recommend pairing it with a volume of Cavafy’s poetry and exploring the wealth of material available through the online Onassis Foundation. This combination truly brings the full spectrum of Cavafy’s genius to life.

A heartfelt thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy that made this journey possible.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something fascinating to me about reading the biography of a writer. When did they ‘decide’ to be a writer? How did success come? What sort of person were they? As a poet, Constantine Cavafy left a smallish number of poems. Reading this book it’s easy to see why. It’s almost like Cavafy was trying to make his life difficult. He was championed by big names (EM Forster and Leonard Woolf among them) but wouldn’t cooperate with them to get his work out.

Understandably, he was sensitive about translations from his carefully chosen Greek, but it meant he never got the success he warranted outside his country during his life. Indeed, he created problems for himself inside Greece as well.

When a critic declared that Cavafy "stood among the rank of world poets like Rimbaud, Mallarme, Heine, and Shelley", supporters of traditional Greek poetry were annoyed and attacked Cavafy and his supporters.

Cavafy had created a “scriptorium" in his flat where he spent hours assembling and arranging and printing hand prepared copies of his poems. That’s when you realise why he wasn’t better known. He physically created his own self bound volumes of his work!

This is a beautiful biography and Mr Jusdanis and Mr Jeffreys show us a true ‘warts and all’ picture of a genius at work and I, for one, am very grateful.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley.

[Angelina_reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Constantine Cavafy is one of Greece’s most important literary figures and this comprehensive biography does him full justice. Meticulously and painstakingly researched, it’s biographical writing at its best, and will surely remain the definitive work about this most enigmatic of writers. Ambitious but rewarding, long but accessibly written, balanced and nuanced, it explores the life and the writing in great depth. Certainly it’s not an easy read and requires concentration and some persistence, but I took it slowly and carefully and gained so much knowledge and insight from it, as well as an understanding of the work that I very much needed and appreciated.

[Momina Areej · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rare and brilliant work that does justice to one of the most enigmatic poets of the modern era. Rather than simply recounting dates and events, the author manages to illuminate the strange paradoxes at the heart of Cavafy’s life: the tension between his public obscurity and his private genius. The book is as much about the man as it is about the poetry yet it never falls into the trap of reducing the work to the life.
This is the kind of biography that does not merely inform but deepens one’s relationship with the work itself.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Cavafy’s biography gave his poems deeper resonance for me. Suddenly the voice I’d been hearing on the page had a life and world behind it.