Michael Dirda
A new translation offers fresh takes on the most celebrated Greek poet of modern times.
Sunday, April 16, 2006; Page BW15
THE COLLECTED POEMS OF C.P. CAVAFY
Translated from the Greek by Aliki Barnstone
  (Anthony Russo) Book World: Poetry Poet's Choice: Excerpts to honor past Poet's Choice hosts.
Objects Are Closer Than They Appear: Michael Collier's intimate examinations
American Idyll: Elegiac poet Donald Hall knows baseball, death.
My Bondage, My Freedom: Natasha Trethewey plumbs public, personal histories.
He Saw the Best Minds of His Generation: Jason Shinder on poet Allen Ginsberg's "Howl"
Notes From Underground: Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney returns to memory and work.
When Doves Cry: Political and personal poetry for the wider world
Confessional: "Black-belt sinner" Mary Karr tells of her conversion to Catholicism in verse.
Alone Together: Stephen Burt takes on the fragmented, soitary nature of American life.
Michael Dirda: "The Collected Poems of C.P. Cavafy" offers a fresh take on the celebrated Greek poet.
Poetry on Audio: "Voices of the Past" opens an ear to history's greatest poets. Audio samples are included.
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Norton. 264 pp. $25.95
Constantine Cavafy, said E.M. Forster in 1923, could sometimes be glimpsed standing in the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, "at a slight angle to the universe." Since then, the literary world's axis has shifted, and Cavafy now seems a central pillar of 20th-century poetry. The title of one of his poems, "Waiting for the Barbarians," has practically become a catchphrase, while "The God Abandons Antony" has long been an anthem of stoic hedonism. Here is Aliki Barnstone's new version (a collaboration with her father, Willis Barnstone):
When suddenly at the midnight hour
you hear the invisible troupe passing by
with sublime music, with voices --
don't futilely mourn your luck giving out, your work
collapsing, the designs of your life
that have all proved to be illusions.
As if long prepared, as if full of courage,
say good-bye to her, the Alexandria who is leaving.
