Cavafy Archive opens to the public
One hundred and sixty years after the birth of Constantine Cavafy, the influential Greek poet, journalist, and civil servant from Alexandria, the Onassis Foundation is adding a landmark to downtown Athens and a milestone in Cavafy research by setting up the Cavafy Archive on Frynichou Street in Plaka, which opens to the public on Wednesday. The Alexandrian’s new home houses over 2,000 items, including manuscripts of poems, literary works, articles and notes.
Cavafy (1863-1933) was introduced to the English-speaking world in 1923 by his friend E.M. Forster, the novelist and literary critic, who famously described him as “a Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe.”
Cavafy’s consciously individual style established him as one of the most prominent characters not just in Greek poetry, but also in Western poetry.
