C. P. Cavafy (1863–1933) is the most important figure in twentieth-century Greek poetry, and his poems are considered among the most powerful in modern European literature. Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard’s celebrated English translation of Cavafy’s collected poems captures the poet’s mixture of formal and idiomatic language, the immediacy of his frank treatment of homoeroticism, his brilliant re-creation of history, and his astute political ironies. This English-only volume is a classic of modern poetry.
Edmund Keeley (1928–2022) was the Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English, emeritus, and professor emeritus of creative writing at Princeton University. Philip Sherrard (1922–1995) was lecturer in the history of the Orthodox Church at King’s College London. George Savidis (1929–1995) was professor of modern Greek literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the George Seferis Professor of Modern Greek Studies at Harvard University.
“The best [English version] we are likely to see for some time.”—James Merrill, New York Review of Books
“[Keeley and Sherrard] have managed the miracle of capturing this elusive, inimitable, unforgettable voice. It is the most haunting voice I know in modern poetry.”—Walter Kaiser, New Republic
“Among the key books of our century and should be read by anyone who cares for poetry.”—Washington Post Book World
"The Keeley and Sherrard translations . . . remain unsurpassed as embodiments of Cavafy’s art in English."—Robert Pinsky, former U.S. Poet Laureate
