Cavafy's Alexandria

by Edmund Keeley

C. P. Cavafy, one of the greatest modern Greek poets, lived in Alexandria for all but a few of his seventy years. Alexandria became, for Cavafy, a central poetic metaphor and eventually a myth encompassing the entire Greek world. In this, the first full-length critical work on Cavafy in English, Edmund Keeley describes Cavafy's literary progress and aesthetic development in the making of that myth.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Edmund Keeley was an American novelist, translator, poet, and essayist, as well as a longtime professor of English at Princeton University. Renowned for his expertise in modern Greek literature, he translated and promoted the works of C. P. Cavafy, George Seferis, Odysseas Elytis, and Yannis Ritsos. His extensive body of work spans fiction, poetry, and scholarship, often inspired by Greece and its culture. He served as president of both the Modern Greek Studies Association and PEN American Center, and received numerous awards and honors, including the Rome Prize, Guggenheim Fellowships, and the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation.

Reviews

[l · Rating 3 out of 5]

I AM SO THANKFUL RIGHT NOW THAT I AM NOT AN ENGLISH MAJOR.

[Afroditi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Σαν έτοιμος από καιρό, σα θαρραλέος,
αποχαιρέτα την, την Aλεξάνδρεια που φεύγει.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading about Alexandria, my birthplace, whether literally written books or novels based there, or memoirs..., is like reliving all those beautiful moments of my childhood & my adolescence ... that cosmopolitan city which gave us the best education, the best experiences & the richest memories that have been not only etched but engraved in one's memory ... & all one can do when one feels this sense of "be longing", is rewind that part of the brain called memory, & find that tape of happy moments play.. with all those sounds of laughter, aromas & scents of a mother's & grandmother's cooking..those sceneries of beautiful architectural structures,...all those azure beaches ...of salty summer breezes while walking along the sea front called the ' corniche' .... one is rich..rich with a Mediterranean DNA which makes one unique ...standing out ... & a Happy person although we said, according to Cavafy, " goodbye to the Alexandria that is no more ". ...... ..... .........