“Cavafy in Italy is a phenomenon.” His words Christos BintudisProfessor of the Department of European, American and Intercultural Studies and Director of the Laboratory of Modern Greek Studies “Mirsini Zorba” of the Sapienza University of Rome, enough to start a big conversation about the great Alexandrian, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of his death.

Indeed, it seems to be a phenomenon. From 1935 to the present day, about 10 translations of his work have been made, the Italian public reads it incessantly, for philologists this is a poetic milestone, for Italian poets it is a starting point. After all, as Christos Bintudis tells us, it is difficult to find a language into which the great Alexandrina would not have been translated.

“Cavafy sells. Everything may fall apart, but he will remain.” This phrase, according to Christos Bintudis, belongs to the poet, philologist and head of the eponymous publications Elisa Doncelli, when the professor asked her why she publishes the “new” Cavafy when the Italian translation of his entire poetic work was released (poems, recognized and not recognized) by hand tireless apostle of modern Greek writing in Italy, Paola Maria Minucci.

Translations and … advertising

“You can hear Cavafy in some Italian TV commercial, in a radio show.” we are surprised by the great neo-Hellenist Minucci, officially naturalized by a Greek. “Waiting for the Barbarians” and “Ithaca” are certainly heard more. Of course, in Italy it was translated from 1935, just two years after his death. Translators and neo-Hellenists constantly deal with him. Especially in the 1960s, two books were published by major publishing houses. One with all the recognized poems by Filippos Maria Podany, the other with 55 poems, which later became 75, by Margherita Dalmati and Nello Rosi. Other famous translators of Cavaf’s work are Nicola Crocetti, and in 2021, immediately after my own translation, a translation of poetry and prose was released in one edition, translated by Renata Lavanini and Cristiano Luciani respectively. Those who worked on his project talked about how modern it is, how much it says about our present. Even today, in 2023, he is read as a poet of the present.“, she notes.

“And it goes beyond literature,” Christos Bintoudis adds. “Painters, sculptors, photographers in Italy are influenced and ‘talk’ about his work. In fact, until the end of the 20th century, Cavafy was read as a great writer. In the 21st century, reading and studying his works in Italy is now at a different stage.”

Many… cavafids

“There are many…Kavafids,” Christos Bintoudis tells us on the occasion of an event next Thursday at the National Library of Rome, organized by the Modern Greek Studies Workshop “Mirsini Zorba,” which he directs. Tomorrow’s reading of his work in 21 languages ​​will try to portray the multifaceted poet of the world.

“He is a historian, he is from the diaspora, he is a citizen. He is the poet of inclusion and with that in mind, we have built this special event,” says Christos Bintoudis in K. “He compares historical times and historical figures from mythology and antiquity with his own day. He overcomes the national “quilting”.

Paola Maria Minucci also advocates for this. “The ancient history and mythology that he uses in his poems are global, and he himself was global from the very beginning because of his subject matter, as well as his origin: Greece, Egypt, Turkey, England,” she notes in a conversation with her. .

“Especially for Italy, Alexandria made its contribution, where the Italian poets Giuseppe Ungaretti, Filippo Marinetti, Enrico Pea met with him. Therefore, it has become the “common property” of Italians, and not just of special readers and scientists, ”says Paola Maria Minucci.

Hidden, hidden, musician

The question comes back: why all this? “I also wondered many times,” says Paola Maria Minucci. “I came to the conclusion that Cavafy touched the depths of humanity. He didn’t talk about love or history – he talked about the feelings and emotions behind them. He was romantic in his historical poems and historical in his novels. And it wasn’t sealed. This is what is behind the story and love. In addition, he often uses the words “hidden” and “hidden”. He says somewhere, however, accidentally in Hidden Verses, that the reader must reveal him, recognize him behind the words.

A leading neo-Hellenist tells K that, in translating, her language created the most obstacles for her. “It’s a mixed language, it goes from the popular – one might say elementary – to the elegant. I also tried to find these popular and elegant words in translation, but there are other layers to his language that are almost… untranslatable.. However, I assumed that he was a timeless contemporary poet, and so I translated him. The second level of difficulty was his pace. He looks like a prose writer, but he is a musician – something, again, is hidden in his poetry. Its code and language levels are numerous. But he remains a contemporary poet, and that interested me from a translation point of view.”

Cavafy in 21 languages

Next Thursday on the occasion of the ninety years since the death of Konstantinos P. Cavafy, 33 of his poems will be recited in 21 languages in the National Library of Rome.

The actress and director will read in Greek Tatiana Lygariand in Italian poets Helio Pecora And Marco Corsipoet and publisher of Cavafy in Italy Eliza DoncelliAnd Paola Maria Minucci.

In the remaining 19 languages, poetry will be read by Sapienza University language teachers, graduate students and doctoral students who are native speakers of each language. “We wanted to symbolically refer to an inclusive Cavafy that transcends strict academic hierarchies and includes a broad readership.”

The purpose of this poetic meeting, as the organizers themselves say, is, among other things, emphasize the pluralism of Cavafy’s poetry stemming from the work of an interpreter to represent the creativity that emerged from Cavafy’s encounters with other languages, societies, cultures and countries. The verses to be read cover a wide range of his poetry: art, polis, melancholy, history, experiences, body, inclusion.

The event is essentially publication of a volume entitled “Kavafis attraverso le parole degli altri” (Bulzoneditore, 2023)which included 33 poems by Cavafy in 21 languages ​​to be read at the event, as well as three original short texts about Cavafy and his work signed by Elio Pecora, Marco Corsi and Paola Maria Minucci.

Overcoming national “quilts” … philological

Department of European, American and Intercultural Studies and Laboratory of Modern Greek Studies “Mirsini Zorba” of the Sapienza University of Rome it is a department that promotes dialogue between the 24 different philologies that it offers in its curricula. “Like Cavafy, this is an inclusive section, cross-cultural, which explores the common lines of cultures, their common efforts to understand different cultures,” says Christos Bintoudis.

“We are striving to overcome the national “quilting,” so to speak,” notes the New Hellenist. “We are also experiencing a transitional moment in modern Greek philology, we are looking for new views on our science, on the understanding of modern Greek culture,” he says. “Already, in fact, since the 80s, Mirsini Zorba, after whom we named our laboratory, spoke about the interculturality of literature.”

Indeed, it seems that for several years now philological science has gone beyond the so-called — schematically — intratextual reading. “Today, international literature is moving beyond the strictly literary part and expanding into a wider cultural field. And we see this in modern Greek literature as well. Although this literature is from a “small” country, if you will allow it, it is very rich, of the highest level – and I’m not just talking about the Nobel Prizes – it has influence abroad. Take, for example, Italy, England and partly Germany.

Christos Bintoudis also draws attention to an additional problem. “It is often difficult for neo-Hellenistic philologists to “open up” to the rest of the world, to abandon positions in search of new horizons of interpretation and study. On the other hand, this is also a problem, especially of post-war prose in Greece, which seems difficult to overcome the post-war standard.