Constantine P. Cavafy - Ithaka & other great poems
Voices of Modern Greece: Selected Poems by C.P. Cavafy, Angelos Sikelianos, George Seferis, Odysseus Elytis, Nikos Gatsos,
(Princeton University Press, 1981; Translated and edited by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard)
(Princeton University Press, 1981; Translated and edited by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard)
The poem Ithaka has become a dear friend over the last twenty years. I first read this epic poem in 1992 for a college class. I am drawn to Cavafy’s poetry in a way that has never been matched by any other poetry or prose to which I have been introduced. There is something about it that speaks to me at a deep level. It is wonderful, it is like love. You cannot explain, you cannot categorize - it is a connection, a relation to another person or words or things, that excites and elevates. That is how I feel about Ithaka and many of Cavafy’s other poems including Che Fece …Il Gran Rifiuto, Waiting for the Barbarians, Longings, The Footsteps, The God Abandons Antony, and As Much As You Can.
I committed Ithaka to memory my senior year of college. I hoped that my oral exam would touch upon this subject and that I would be able to recite it for the professors and the department heads and wow them with my knowledge. Instead, I was asked about the architecture of the US Capital Building which I struggled to identify (to the dismay of those grading me as well as my own). The less than intellectually glowing conversation that ensued was a struggle at best with no mention of Cavafy or Ithaka and the final question I was asked, perhaps by a professor that was trying to throw me a meatball, only led to more stammering. “If you were able to have a conversation with a dolphin, what would you ask?” The first thought that ran through my mind was, “I’ve never thought of talking to a dolphin. What in the heck am I suppose to say?” To clarify, I had written my senior thesis on ancient depictions of dolphins. It was titled, The Dolphin: From Ancient Relic to Modern Treasure. I skimmed by getting a C or C- on my oral exam and was disappointed that Ithaka did not come up during the examination. I had no idea how to prepare for an oral exam. I had not found my voice at that time, at least not a voice of confidence, or the ability to discuss topics in a formal setting. I longed for and loved intellectual conversations, I love to discuss ideas, concepts, and theories, but I had grown up in an absence of such conversation and even when I was immersed in an amazing institution of learning, I remained silent to a large degree. But I regress, let me return to Cavafy and Ithaka. I encourage each of you to read Ithaka and Cavafy’s poems - I quote several of them in my book, although The God Abandons Antony is only referenced and a few others of the listed favorites above are not found in TKC. Search them out and if you love them then buy the Voices of Modern Greece poetry book and share this wonderful poetry with others - and please feel free to send your comments, reflections, and stories to me regarding this amazing poet and his work. (coyotechristina@gmail.com) |
Above: Train station at Kalavrita - a small Greek village that serves as a pilgrimage destination for Greeks that choose to honor their ancestors by remembering the horrific acts committed by the Nazis during their WW II occupation of Greece
Above: The picture above shows a plaque displayed in Kalavrita that stands as a memorial to the day and time that the Nazis killed every man and boy in the village for flying the Greek flag during the Nazi occupation.
It reads: THE HOUR OF DESTRUCTION LEFT A SCAR ON TIME THE SILENCED CLOCK WILL ALWAYS READ DISASTER AND DEATH; BLOOD, FIRE, AND PAIN AT THE EXACT HOUR WHEN THE LAMENT BEGAN December 13, 1943 |
Top of the page: Ruins at the base of the Acropolis on a rainy morning in Athens