“Remember, Body”: A Phenomenological Approach to the Poetry of Constantin Cavafy

Abstract

Phenomenology and the poetry of Constantin Cavafy (1863–1933) seldom appear in the same sentence, and there are few such approaches to his work in English. Having set out the basis of phenomenology as proposed by Edmund Husserl and interpreted by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the article calls for critics to acknowledge their phenomenological influences more openly. It then examines early, late, published and suppressed poems and prose by Cavafy. Alongside its restrained and cerebral nature, Cavafy’s work sustains readings that place the body at the centre of experience, feeling and communication. It also notes the limits of this approach, particularly when a subjective history of the body closes it off to the other.

Keywords:

• Cavafy
• poetry
• phenomenology
• Merleau-Ponty
• body
• consciousness

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgements

I presented earlier versions of this paper in July 2019 at the 3rd International Cavafy Summer School and in March 2020 at the UWC CHR Seminar series. In particular, I thank and acknowledge Takis Kayalis, Peter Jeffreys, Chrysa Theologou, Ben Nolan, and the journal’s two anonymous readers.

Additional information

Funding

This work is based on research partly supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa [grant number 119035]. The views expressed are the author’s, not those of the NRF.

Notes on contributors

Roger Field

Roger Field is a Research Fellow attached to the English Department of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. His published works include the monograph Alex la Guma: A Literary and Political Biography (2010). Since then he has published several articles and presented papers on Achmat Dangor, George Seferis, and Constantin Cavafy. His current research focuses on Dangor and Cavafy.