Sign in with Facebook
Mir's Reviews > C. P. Cavafy: Collected Poems
C. P. Cavafy: Collected Poems
by
by
Translation is a difficult task, and I hesitate to rate them harshly. But in this case, there are several better translations already available (contrary to what the goodreads entry says, this edition was not originally published in 1979; the entries for the differing Cavafy translations seem all mixed together) so it strikes me as both pointless and hubristic to produce another at all, much less pronounce it "an extraordinary literary event".
Mendelsohn entirely loses the sensuality that characterizes Cavafy's poetic style. He loses much of the ease of tone as well, producing stiff and somewhat guarded entries. To be just, Mendelsohn is not himself a poet as far as I can determine, but since it was his choice to undertake this endeavor I don't see that as much of an excuse.
Compare, for example, Edmund Keeley's translation of "Body, Remember":
Body, remember not only how much you were loved,
not only the beds you lay on,
but also those desires that glowed openly
in eyes that looked at you, trembled for you
with Mendelsohn's "Remember, Body":
Body, remember not just how much you were loved,
not just the beds where you have lain,
But also those longings that so openly
glistened for you in eyes
To my mind, the later adds nothing in meaning and is slightly inferior in style. Also, why shift the titles? If there is no debate as to word meaning this serves no purpose and makes it harder to look up poems.
Keeley's is a very competent translation. If you can find it, my recommended translation is the older one by Rae Dalven, The Complete Poems of Cavafy: Expanded Edition, with bonus introduction by Auden. Both Dalven and Auden really seem to "get" Cavafy in a way that Mendelsohn fails to.
Mendelsohn entirely loses the sensuality that characterizes Cavafy's poetic style. He loses much of the ease of tone as well, producing stiff and somewhat guarded entries. To be just, Mendelsohn is not himself a poet as far as I can determine, but since it was his choice to undertake this endeavor I don't see that as much of an excuse.
Compare, for example, Edmund Keeley's translation of "Body, Remember":
Body, remember not only how much you were loved,
not only the beds you lay on,
but also those desires that glowed openly
in eyes that looked at you, trembled for you
with Mendelsohn's "Remember, Body":
Body, remember not just how much you were loved,
not just the beds where you have lain,
But also those longings that so openly
glistened for you in eyes
To my mind, the later adds nothing in meaning and is slightly inferior in style. Also, why shift the titles? If there is no debate as to word meaning this serves no purpose and makes it harder to look up poems.
Keeley's is a very competent translation. If you can find it, my recommended translation is the older one by Rae Dalven, The Complete Poems of Cavafy: Expanded Edition, with bonus introduction by Auden. Both Dalven and Auden really seem to "get" Cavafy in a way that Mendelsohn fails to.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
C. P. Cavafy.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
September 26, 2011
– Shelved
September 26, 2011
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)
date
newest »
newest »
It's especially confusing if you are looking online, because many sites (like this one) treat editions as interchangeable. I wish they had a search-by-ISBN option.
Another I liked, translated by Edmund Keeley:You said: “I’ll go to another country, go to another shore,
find another city better than this one.
Whatever I try to do is fated to turn out wrong
and my heart lies buried as though it were something dead.
How long can I let my mind moulder in this place?
Wherever I turn, wherever I happen to look,
I see the black ruins of my life, here,
where I’ve spent so many years, wasted them, destroyed them totally.”
You won’t find a new country, won’t find another shore.
This city will always pursue you. You will walk
the same streets, grow old in the same neighborhoods,
will turn gray in these same houses.
You will always end up in this city. Don’t hope for things elsewhere:
there is no ship for you, there is no road.
As you’ve wasted your life here, in this small corner,
you’ve destroyed it everywhere else in the world.
Completely agree, I was very disappointed by the translations (and what I paid for them!). Unfortunately, I was fooled by the marketing of this book.
On the other hand, the notes are very good, but probably not worth the price tag.
On the other hand, the notes are very good, but probably not worth the price tag.
Nick wrote: "Completely agree, I was very disappointed by the translations (and what I paid for them!). Unfortunately, I was fooled by the marketing of this book."Do you have a favorite translation?
This is only the second I own, the other being Keeley and Sherrard. I prefer the latter, but after running both by a Greek speaker, he was unhappy with both. I believe one of the reviews of this book points to a more popular translation.
I prefer Rae Dalven's translation as well. She somehow manages to capture the magic brilliantly.