Full Description
'Versions of a great poet's work by another great poet provide fascinating examples of exchange, cross-over, transposition, modulation, sensitive homage and daring challenge. In Harsent's Cavafy, erotic loss and memory are pin-point sharp, while their expression is taut and thrillingly condensed. In the "dark depth" of these lines we sense a Cavafy even closer to our own times, a voice lightly and convincingly interpreted, a vision to be pondered, savoured and enjoyed.'
John Kittmer
'The many readers who have found their way into Yannis Ritsos' poetry through David Harsent's acclaimed recreations will now find kindred qualities in this sequence made out of Cavafy. The Greek poet's obsession with love and loss has tended to come across somewhat insipidly in English versions: Harsent's inject a new and salutary note of bleakness.'
David Ricks
