Selected Poems

The spellbinding verse of one of the most distinctive poetic voices of the twentieth century

Although the Greek poet Constantine Cavafy died in obscurity, today he is regarded as one of the most original of twentieth-century poets. Whether conjuring moments from Alexandria’s ancient past, lyrically evoking homosexual trysts, or painting exquisite miniatures of everyday life, his poems exude a striking inventiveness and staggering beauty, qualities that are preserved here in Avi Sharon’s sensitive translations.

The Greek poet C. P. Cavafy (1863-1933) is one of the most singular and poignant voices of twentieth-century European poetry, conjuring a rich interior world through lyrical evocations of remembered passions, imagined monologues and dramatic retellings of his native Alexandria's ancient past.

W. H. Auden

Ever since I was first introduced to his poetry . . . Cavafy has remained an influence on my writing.

Constantine Cavafy (1863—1933) was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to Greek parents. He worked as a journalist and civil servant and only late in life began to find a receptive readership for his poems. A volume of his collected poetry was not published until after his death. Avi Sharon has taught classics and the humanities in New York, Boston, and Athens and has published translations in such journals as Partisan Review, Arion, and Dialogos.