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Yup, that's it. Good googling. At 05:37 PM 1/13/2005, you wrote: >It must be this one, Mark? I went and googled, and this is the brief >review from >www.shearsman.com; I'll have to see if I can find it, > >Best, > >Rebecca > > Cavafy: I've Gazed So Much >(translated by George Economou, with illustrations by Dieter Hall. ISBN 0 >-9529961-9-7. >Stop Press, London, 52pp, pb, £8.95). > > >It seems almost as if Cavafy's time has passed for English readers, and I >can't >remember the last time I saw new translations of his work. I do however have >the old standby Keeley & Sherrard translations of the Collected Poems here on >my shelves (Hogarth Press, London, 1975), and it's been an interesting task >comparing these poems in the two different translations, especially since my >Greek runs no further then alpha, beta, gamma. The linocut illustrations >in this >new book by Dieter Hall are excellent, and as erotic as you would expect for >this poet, but what of the translations? > >Well, I went ahead with an A/B comparison of the Economou and Keeley/ >Sherrard versions, poem by poem. Result? No contest — the Economou >veersions >in almost every case are far superior as poems to the older >translations, which >often demonstrate a tin ear. I'm sure the K & S versions are correct >lexically, but >they clunk badly at times and move clumsily. It's a question of being >just that >little bit more courageous with the translations, and in this new one we >have a >poet's sense of diction, of the mot juste, whereas in K & S we have lexical >correctness and a professorial ear. Given that the older version may well >be out >of print, this is very recommendable, although (a slight word of >warning) it does >seem to cover more of the early work and is thus not entirely representative. > >---- Original message ---- > >Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 17:19:28 -0500 > >From: Mark Weiss <[log in to unmask]> > >Subject: Re: Haviaras translation > >To: [log in to unmask] > > > >If you can find it (all of my books are packed), George Economou did a > >lovely Cavafy chapbook I think last year. I'll try to get the info. > > > >Mark > > > > > >At 01:07 PM 1/13/2005, you wrote: > >>Someone, who has previously been able to only read Cavafy in the Greek > >>finding > >>the English translations somehow impassable, sent me a couple of >translations > >>by Stratis Haviaras from his new translation of Cavafy's _The Canon_. > I'm not > >>sure about getting the book here, though it may be more readily available > >>in the > >>UK, and will be out here in the near future. So a sample from the Haviaras > >>translation. > >> > >>best, > >> > >>Rebecca > >> > >> > >>He Vows > >> > >>Every so often he vows to lead a better life. > >>But when night comes again bearing its own counsel, > >>and its own allowances and its assurances, > >>when night comes again with its own energies, > >>he falls back, beaten down, back to the deadly joy. > >> > >> > >> > >>For Them To Be Summoned > >> > >> > >>One candle is enough. Its gentle light > >> > >>is more fitting, it will be more seemly > >> > >>when the Shadows come, the Shadows of love. > >> > >> > >>One candle is enough. Tonight the room > >> > >>must not have too much light. In deep reverie > >> > >>and evocation, and in that subtle light, > >> > >>here in the grip of deep reverie, I will conjure visions > >> > >>so that the Shadows may come, the shadows of love. > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>trans. Stratis Haviaras