Josh Bryer
on translating C. P. Cavafy
The last line in the original poem reads “ώς που να γίνει σα μια ξένη φορτική.” A literal word-for-word translation renders “until it becomes like a strange burden/load/cargo.” This last noun, φορτική, evokes a material object, creating a poetic relationship between “it” (life) and physical weight. However, Cavafy is describing how best to shape a life that just does not seem to work out as planned: “try as much as you can / not to corrupt it…until it becomes like μια ξένη φορτική.” Though “a strange burden” also makes sense in English, the emphatic μια (“one,” “a)” and the intangibility of life suggest that φορτική carries the metaphorical weight of “duty” or “obligation.” A life that is not shaped as you would like becomes something unfamiliar — a burden, an obligation and duty.
about the author
Famed for poems such as “Ithaka,” “Waiting for the Barbarians,” and “The City,” Constantine Petrou Cavafy was a Greek poet who lived from April 29, 1863, to April 29, 1933. Cavafy lived most of his life in Alexandria, where he was born and where he died, though he spent several years abroad in Britain and Constantinople. While alive, Cavafy published his poems in newspapers, periodicals, and annuals, only generating collections of his work upon request. Representative of the cosmopolitan Greek diaspora, Cavafy’s works appeal to international audiences. Cavafy’s works were first introduced to an English-speaking audience in 1919 and the first volume of his works was published posthumously in 1935. His poems broadly fit in three categories that, unsurprisingly, often overlap: historical, philosophical, and sensual.
about the translator
At Penn, Josh Bryer studied classical languages and literature, learned modern Greek, and took classes in Hindi and Urdu. In the study of classical Greek and Latin, precision of translation is essential. However, such precision is often equated to substituting Greek or Latin words with their English equivalents as much as a dictionary entry will allow. Professor Taije Silverman’s translation of poetry course challenged his perception of the process of translation and, in turn, his understanding of how to accurately translate meaning; he learned that meaning is too often lost in word-for-word translation.
photo by Leila Pearlman
