Waiting for the Barbarians (poem)

Waiting for the Barbarians is a Greek poem by Constantine P. Cavafy, written in November 1898 and first published in 1904.[1] It depicts a day in an unnamed city-state where everything has come to a halt because the population is awaiting the arrival of "the barbarians", who they plan to welcome.

Daniel Mendelsohn (one of many translators who has produced an English version of "Waiting")[2] has said that the poem's portrayal of a state whose lawmakers sit in stagnant idleness was "particularly prescient" in light of the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.[3]

Robert Pinsky has described it as "cunning" and "amusing".[4] Charles Simić has called it "an apt description of any state that needs enemies, real or imaginary, as a perpetual excuse",[1] while the Independent considered the poem's final line evocative of "the dangers implied by the end of the Cold War".[5]

Homages

J. M. Coetzee's 1980 novel Waiting for the Barbarians is named for the poem,[6][7] as are Waiting for the Barbarians, the 1998 essay collection by Lewis H. Lapham[5] and Waiting for the Barbarians, the 2013 essay collection by Daniel Mendelsohn.[8]

Await Barbarians, the 2014 album by Alexis Taylor, is also named for the poem;[9] similarly, that album's song "Without a Crutch" alludes directly to the poem.[9]

In 2011, Andrew Ford adapted the poem into a choral work.[10][2] In 2012, Constantine Koukias adapted it into an opera, "The Barbarians".[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Some Sort of a Solution: Charles Simic reviews 'The Collected Poems' by C.P. Cavafy, translated by Evangelos Sachperoglou and 'The Canon' by C.P. Cavafy, translated by Stratis Haviaras; by Charles Simić; in the London Review of Books (vol. 30, no. 6; page 32-34); published March 20, 2008 ; retrieved March 7, 2015
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Andrew Ford: Waiting for the Barbarians, by Andrew Ford, at AndrewFord.net.au; published no later than March 6, 2012; retrieved March 7, 2015
  3. ↑ “Waiting for the Barbarians” and the Government Shutdown, by Daniel Mendelsohn, in the New Yorker; published October 1, 2013; retrieved March 7, 2015
  4. ↑ Waiting for the Barbarians (by Constantine Cavafy), by Robert Pinsky; in Slate; published June 26, 1997; retrieved March 7, 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wednesday's book: Waiting for the Barbarians by Lewis Lapham (Verso, pounds 17) by Godfrey Hodgson ; in the Independent; published January 14, 1998; retrieved March 7, 2015
  6. ↑ Konstantinos Kavaphes (Constantine Cavafy) · Waiting for the Barbarians (Translated by Richmond Lattimore), at the Kenyon Review; first published no later than March 6, 2012 (date of earliest version on archive.org); retrieved March 7, 2015
  7. ↑ Doubling the Point: Essays and Interviews, by David Attwell; published 1992 by Harvard University Press (via Google Books)
  8. ↑ Waiting for the Barbarians by Daniel Mendelsohn – review, by Christopher Bray, in the Guardian; published January 6, 2013; retrieved March 7, 2015
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Don't Write for the Barbarians, by Joe Fassler, in the Atlantic; published July 25 2014; retrieved March 7, 2015
  10. ↑ Waiting for the Barbarians : SATB choir by Andrew Ford, at the Australian Music Centre; published no later than June 5, 2012; retrieved March 7, 2015
  11. ↑ Greek poet becomes a Greek opera, by Stephen Smooker, at NeosKosmos.com; published January 13, 2012; retrieved March 7, 2015

External links