C. P. Cavafy's position as a British-cultured Greek who lived and wrote in colonial Alexandria has perplexed critics, who often address the poet's commitments either as Anglophile or as anti-imperialist and pro-Arab. Seeking a subtler approach to Cavafy's complex colonial circumstances, this essay looks at the poet as a diaspora Greek who wrote of Eastern Hellenism through concepts, facilities, and resources made available by the British Empire. Among the issues explored in this venture are: the widespread use of the Hellenistic East as code for the British Empire in Cavafy's time and the keen interest of colonial intellectuals on some of the poet's favorite topics, such as Hellenistic racial and cultural hybridity; Cavafy's encounters with major colonial figures, including Evelyn Baring (1st Earl of Cromer), T. E. Lawrence, and Ronald Storrs; and the interpretative complexities and ambiguities that arise once we recognize the colonial substratum of Cavafy's historical poems.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
May 01 2021
At a Slight Angle to the Empire: Cavafy among the British
Takis Kayalis
Takis Kayalis
In loving memory of Alekos Kotzambopoulos a true Egyptiot prince
Takis Kayalis is professor of Modern Greek literature at the Hellenic Open University and member of the Cavafy Archive Academic Committee (Onassis Foundation). His research focuses mainly on nineteenth-century prose, modernist poetics, digital humanities, and literary pedagogy. He is currently completing an extensive study of Cavafy's uses of material antiquity vis-à-vis colonial culture.
Search for other works by this author on:
boundary 2 (2021) 48 (2): 41–57.
Citation
Takis Kayalis; At a Slight Angle to the Empire: Cavafy among the British. boundary 2 1 May 2021; 48 (2): 41–57. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/01903659-8936677
Download citation file:
Advertisement