Constantine Cavafy

Constantine P. Cavafy
Constantine Cavafy c. 1900
Born	(1863-04-29)April 29, 1863 Alexandria, Egypt Province, Ottoman Empire
Died	April 29, 1933(1933-04-29) (aged 70) Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt
Resting place	Greek Orthodox Cemetery, Alexandria, Al Iskandariyah, Egypt
Occupation	Poet, journalist, civil servant
Ethnicity	Greek
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Constantine P. Cavafy (/kəˈvɑːfɪ/; also known as Konstantin or Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis; Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Π. Καβάφης; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933) was an Egyptian Greek poet, journalist and civil servant. His consciously individual style earned him a place among the most important figures not only in Greek poetry, but in Western poetry as well.

Cavafy wrote 154 poems, while dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. During his lifetime, he consistently refused to formally publish his work and preferred to share it through local newspapers and magazines, or even print it out himself and give it away to anyone interested. His most important poems were written after his fortieth birthday, and officially published two years after his death.

Cavafy was born in 1863 in Alexandria, Egypt, to Greek parents, and was baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church. His father's name was Πέτρος Ἰωάννης, Petros Ioannēs —hence the Petrou patronymic (GEN) in his name— and his mother's Charicleia (Greek: Χαρίκλεια; née Γεωργάκη Φωτιάδη, Georgakē Photiadē). His father was a prosperous importer-exporter who had lived in England in earlier years and acquired British nationality. After his father died in 1870, Cavafy and his family settled for a while in Liverpool. In 1876, his family faced financial problems due to the Long Depression of 1873, so, by 1877, they had to move back to Alexandria.