Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Cavafy Archive has entered a new chapter in its history, reports Kathimerini daily. In a highly symbolic move, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation has recently purchased the archive, thus ensuring that its rich content remains in Greece. The archive’s material includes poems (originals and translations), commentaries, literary and other writings, correspondence, diaries, the Alexandrine Art archive (a journal published by Cavafy) as well as a number of the poet’s personal belongings.
The oldest item in the archive dates back to 1850 and is a letter penned by the poet’s uncle, Georgios Cavafy, announcing that Constantine’s father was being dispatched to Alexandria to take charge of the local branch of the family business, while the most recent material, from 1933, is the poet’s correspondence with members of his family prior to his death at Alexandria’s Greek hospital, as well the manuscript of his final poem, On the Outskirts of Antioch.
