Another fabulous piece: elegantly-written, informative and interesting. It’s so refreshing to find such high-standard writing on subjects outside boring old London. The Post is setting the bar very high! Just off to source a copy of Cavafy’s poems :-)
Another interesting piece of writing - thank you Leo. I wasn't aware of Cavafy though the Greek community of traders in Liverpool - cotton and goods - was now well established in our city. The Massacre of Chios set off a chain of events which led to this Greek community settling in our great city and adding to its culture. Wealthy families with links in other trading cities. A story in itself.
Thank you Leo, that was an interesting read for Saturday morning. My formal English Literature education never included him, it finished in the late 70’s as I left school and started work. We mainly focused on Shakespeare and Yates for the ‘O’ level exams. I’ve always thought poetry is a very personal thing it’s something you do or don’t like as it can be difficult to interpret. It’s nice to think he was influenced and inspired by his time in Liverpool, maybe he should be included in the Liverpool Tour bus information as it winds itself around the city, along with all the other very important and influential people who either came from or came to Liverpool.
I really enjoyed this piece. I don’t read a lot of poetry and although I‘ve studied literature I hadn’t heard of Cavafy. I found the poems cited appealed to me greatly and it’s always good to learn more about our city.
Quite an interesting, if ever so slightly melancholic, read, the mention of Larkin leads me to ponder is there ever a cheerful poet, who never takes life so serious? Is it some kind of requirement which is taught at the beginning, that you have to be some kind of morose soul who is doomed to carry the worries of the world on their shoulders like some kind of latter day Atlas? Is there some kind of unwritten rule that you are not allowed to be cheerful if you decide to become a poet? Are you excluded from class if your poems show even the merest hint of levity? Possibly something to cover in a future article! :-D
Another fabulous piece: elegantly-written, informative and interesting. It’s so refreshing to find such high-standard writing on subjects outside boring old London. The Post is setting the bar very high! Just off to source a copy of Cavafy’s poems :-)
Loved that article, you can almost hear the sounds of the different places, home and abroad! Thank you.
Another interesting piece of writing - thank you Leo. I wasn't aware of Cavafy though the Greek community of traders in Liverpool - cotton and goods - was now well established in our city. The Massacre of Chios set off a chain of events which led to this Greek community settling in our great city and adding to its culture. Wealthy families with links in other trading cities. A story in itself.
Thank you Leo, that was an interesting read for Saturday morning. My formal English Literature education never included him, it finished in the late 70’s as I left school and started work. We mainly focused on Shakespeare and Yates for the ‘O’ level exams. I’ve always thought poetry is a very personal thing it’s something you do or don’t like as it can be difficult to interpret. It’s nice to think he was influenced and inspired by his time in Liverpool, maybe he should be included in the Liverpool Tour bus information as it winds itself around the city, along with all the other very important and influential people who either came from or came to Liverpool.
I really enjoyed this piece. I don’t read a lot of poetry and although I‘ve studied literature I hadn’t heard of Cavafy. I found the poems cited appealed to me greatly and it’s always good to learn more about our city.
Thank you so much. A beautiful piece of writing.
Loved this. The more I read about how fascinating Liverpool was in the 19th century the more I wonder why we're so hung up on one decade in the 20th.
Lovely that. Thanks for letting us know about Cavafy. What is the process of getting a blue plaque btw?
What a lovely little ‘tripy’ (James Hanley spelling) around Liverpool and Alexandria. Cheers Leo lad!
Happy Saturday Leo - your piece was a nice start to the day. Are the poems written in Greek? They have the feel of a translation about them.
Your little history reminds that there was a time before passports and immigration control, when such a life was possible.
Thanks again
Quite an interesting, if ever so slightly melancholic, read, the mention of Larkin leads me to ponder is there ever a cheerful poet, who never takes life so serious? Is it some kind of requirement which is taught at the beginning, that you have to be some kind of morose soul who is doomed to carry the worries of the world on their shoulders like some kind of latter day Atlas? Is there some kind of unwritten rule that you are not allowed to be cheerful if you decide to become a poet? Are you excluded from class if your poems show even the merest hint of levity? Possibly something to cover in a future article! :-D