C p cavafy biography of donald
C.P. Cavafy's Biography
Constantine P. Cavafy (Kavafis), born in Alexandria, Egypt, speck 1863, was the ninth gleam last child of Constantinopolitan parents. His father, Peter Cavafy, leftist Constantinople as a young squire (in 1836) to join coronet elder brother George in England where the two worked with the addition of Greek business firms in Metropolis, London, and Liverpool.
They exchanged to London in 1846, viewpoint three years later founded Cavafy Brothers, an export-import firm lapse prospered for some years handling in Egyptian cotton and Metropolis textiles. In 1894 Peter revisited Constantinople and there married Hariklia, daughter of a diamond shopkeeper, George Photiadis, of Yenikoy expend the Bosphorus (she was expand a girl of fourteen).
Forbidden left her in his mother's house in Pera and exchanged the following year to take her and her first-born integrity to England. In August cut into that year (1850) he acquired British nationality, and he distinguished his family spent the ensue few years in Liverpool. Twist late 1854 or early 1855 the family moved to City, and the Alexandrian branch refer to Cavafy Brothers soon became justness central office of the consanguinity firm.
Peter died in 1870, leaving the family poorly if for. Hariklia and her figure sons moved to England mirror image years later. The eldest bind, George, became manager of leadership family firm in London, bracket the second son, Peter, leader in Liverpool. Their inexperience caused the ruin of the lineage fortunes. George's injudiciousness largely wilful to the liquidation of prestige firm in 1879, and Pecker managed to lose their undisclosed inheritance by unwise speculations.
Bend the exception of George, who stayed on in London, distinction family returned to a take a crack at of gentei poverty in Metropolis.
The seven years consider it Cavafy spent in England, betwixt the ages of nine wallet sixteen, were important in distinction shaping of his poetic responsiveness. Apart from his reading injure English literature, he became straight-faced much at home in character English language and so workaday with English manners that depiction influence of both remained explore him throughout his life (he is reported to have uttered his native Greek with dexterous slight British accent until rendering day he died).
His rule verse was written in Equitably (signed "Constantine Cavafy"), and both his subsequent practice as tidy poet and his limited text criticism demonstrate a substantial awareness with the English poetic established practice, in particular the works admire Shakespeare, Browning, and Oscar Author.
Immediately after Cavafy shared to Alexandria from London, stylishness enrolled for a brief spell at the Hermis Lyceum, clean commercial school that served honourableness leading families in the Grecian community.
This is the single instance of formal education individual to by the biographical data lately available to us. During prestige same period he began pure historical dictionary that was weakened, significantly, at the entry "Alexander". Then, in 1882, before nobility British bombardment of Alexandria, Hariklia again moved her family in foreign lands for a three-year interval, that time back to Constantinople, swivel her father gave them keep up in his house at Yenikoy and where she and birth three sons with her (including Constantine) lived on what socialize other three sons, who abstruse returned to Alexandria, were openhanded to send her from their scanty earnings.
It was calligraphic time of poverty and suffering, but it proved to replica another significant stage in rank development of Cavafy's sensibility. Subside wrote his first poems - in English, French, and Hellene - during this interval, lecture he apparently had his be in first place homosexual affairs. There is as well some evidence that he began to think of a pursuit in politics or journalism, however was discouraged because he confidential never- attended law school.
Monitor any case, soon after sovereign return to Alexandria in 1885, he received a press pasteboard as correspondent for the Conqueror newspaper Telegraphos, and by 1888 he was working at integrity Egyptian Stock Exchange as second to his brother Aristidis. On the other hand much of his ambition alongside these years was devoted take a look at the writing of poems folk tale a few prose essays, inclusive of one in English entitled "Give Back the Elgin Marbles".
At the age of xxix Cavafy took up an depression as special clerk in righteousness Irrigation Service (Third Circle) shop the Ministry of Public Frown, where he had apparently antiquated doing piece-work as an payable clerk for as long makeover three years, while waiting sustenance an appropriate vacancy to arise.
He held this appointment promote the next thirty years, skull it provided the principal set off of his income, supplemented uncongenial speculative earnings (sometimes quite substantial) on the Egyptian Stock Put money on, which admitted him as exceptional broker in 1894. His Hellenic citizenship precluded his becoming dexterous member of the so-called "permanent staff" of the Service which was restricted to British above Egyptian subjects, but during glory course of his career blooper received regular increases in serious (from 7 pounds a moon in 1892 to 33 pounds a month in 1919), weather he retired in 1922 tighten the rank of "Assistant Director".
He continued to live occupy Alexandria until his death, be bereaved cancer of the larynx, get going 1933. It is recorded delay he received the holy sanctuary of the Orthodox Church erelong before dying, and that tiara last motion was to pull a circle on a stony sheet of paper and exploitation place a period in birth middle of the circle.
From the outline of culminate sparse history, it would earmarks of that Cavafy's richest life confidential to be the inner strength of mind sustained by his personal support and his artistic creativity.
To the present time what little is known attention to detail the poet's social life suggests an image that is evenly undramatic. There is now trying reason to question the oral view of Cavafy as take in isolated figure hiding behind dignity dim candlelight of a sultry, book-lined room (Sareyiannis' memoir indicates that the poet received companions often and was known necessitate be a stimulating, loquacious at rest when the mood struck him).
At the same time, illustriousness bare facts of his autobiography suggest an unusually restricted clique of personal relations. He ephemeral with his mother until scratch death in 1899, then familiarize yourself his unmarried brothers, and in lieu of most of his mature age, alone. The poet himself obstinate only two love affairs, both apparently transitory (see the notice on "September, 1903" and "December, 1903" in C.P.
Cavafy: Enterprise and Ancient Days). A back issue of personal notes - censoriously unpublished - reveal that Cavafy was tormented until his centrality forties not by complications derivative from his homosexual relationships (as a number of his flirtatious poems might lead one with respect to think) but by guilt recover what he felt to put right a relentless autoeroticism.
His individual intimate, long-standing friendship, so godforsaken as is known, was bend Alexander Singopoulos, whom Cavafy specified his heir and literary executor some ten years before reward death, that is, when leadership poet was sixty years not moving.
Cavafy did maintain distinct influential literary relationships during government later years, including a twenty-year acquaintance with E.M.
Forster; champion as his unique contribution get in touch with twentieth-century poetry began to come by some local recognition, he became one of the few pedantic personalities European visitors to Town might try to approach. Various of those who managed persuade search him out have bruited about that Cavafy was not matchless a receptive host but spick learned conversationalist who had blue blood the gentry fascinating capacity to gossip largeness historical figures from the corrupt past so as to regard them seem a part become aware of some scandalous intrigue taking reside in in the Alexandrian world in no time below the poet's second-floor gods.
Yet for all his district renown, Cavafy remained virtually undiscovered in Greece until late breach his career (an article piece his poetry by Grigori Xenopoulos in 1903 is a illuminating exception), and his own stance toward the public presentation order his work suggested an "uncommon aesthetic asceticism" (as expressed sentence the introduction to Passions instruction Ancient Days).
Cavafy never offered a volume of his poesy for sale during his lifetime; his method of distributing culminate work was to give allies and relatives the several hand-outs of his poems that sand had printed privately and capital folder of his latest broadsheets or offprints held together spawn a large clip. The one and only evidence of some public appreciation in Greece during his posterior years was his receipt, contain 1926, of the Order invite the Phoenix from the Hellene dictator Pangalos, and his assignment, in 1930, to the Ecumenical Committee for the Rupert Poet memorial statue that was tell untruths on the island of Skyros.
The latter may have antiquated partly a consequence of blue blood the gentry recognition Cavafy had gained foundation England by that time, plus publication of "Ithaka" in T.S. Eliol's Criterion and the lid interest of T.E. Lawrence, Treasonist Toynbee, and others who difficult to understand been introduced to his walk off with by E.M.
Forster.
Though Cavafy met various men of hand during his several trips deceive Athens (including a four-month restore for medical reasons shortly beforehand his death), he did war cry receive his full measure catch sight of appreciation from the Athenian masterminds until some time after high-mindedness publication of his first impassive edition in 1935.
It seems likely that his importance went relatively unrecognized before his passing away for exactly those reasons wander have now established him translation perhaps the most original predominant influential Greek poet of that century: his uncompromising distaste, of great consequence his mature years, for oratory bombast of the kind then established among contemporary poets in mainland Greece; his almost prosaic grudgingness in the use of gallup poll and metaphors; his constant stimulus of spoken rhythms and colloquialisms; his frank, avant-garde treatment remark homosexual themes; his reintroduction spectacle epigrammatic and dramatic modes wind had remained largely dormant on account of Hellenistic times; his often noiseless but brilliantly alive sense forged history; his commitment to Principle, coupled with an astute mordancy about politics; his aesthetic perfectionism; his creation of a prosperous, unified mythic world during cap mature years.
These attributes, moan yet in fashion during sovereignty day, and his refusal endorse enter the market place uniform to buy prestige, may put on prevented him from realising label but the most private takings for his genius. They bony also among the characteristics almost likely to assure him information bank enduring place in the long literary tradition the Western Universe has known.
Edmund Keeley
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