Pele’s Poetry Podcast: Episode 8 – Forbidden Love

It’s often said that great art begets great art. And that’s certainly the case with the Greek poet, Constantine P Cavafy, whose poetry inspired a young and little known British artist back in the 1960s. The artist is now a household name. His identity? Well if you don’t know already you’ll have to listen to me and Pele Cox reveal all as we explore forbidden love as a source of inspiration for poets from Thom Gunn to Walt Whitman.

I should add that Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis was born to Greek parents in Alexandria, Egypt, but spent a lot of time in England (hence the Anglicised name). He was largely unknown in his lifetime but is now considered one of the most singular Greek poets of the early 20th Century. So let us explain the posthumous turnaround…

Poems

• In The Boring Village by Constantine P Cavafy
• When I Heard at the Close of the Day by Walt Whitman
• Duncan Part 2 from The Man With Night Sweats by Thom Gunn

Notes and further reading

We mentioned Ithaka by Cavafy without reading it. In all of its translations into English, the poem is one of the finest expositions on how life is better enjoyed as a journey rather than a destination.

We planned to read Warming her Pearls by Carol Ann Duffy but with no disrespect to Duffy ran out of time. We also felt, in the moment, that to read the poem would detract from Thom Gunn’s Duncan. It is nonetheless an extraordinary poem so please do take the time to read it if you haven’t before.

I inadvertently called Thom Gunn Thomas. His full name was actually Thomson William Gunn. My apologies.

Credits

The sepia image of Cavafy in pince nez is courtesy of the Constantine Cavafy Museum, Alexandria. The original was by an anonymous artist. The photo is by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images.

The image to Cavafy’s left is, of course, In the Dull Village by © David Hockney. The original plate from which aquatint prints have been made is in the Tate, London.

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