C. P. Cavafy in Paris: A Journey of Apprenticeship

How did Paris influence C. P. Cavafy? How was his work read and reinterpreted by major figures of French letters, such as Marguerite Yourcenar? How was his poetry disseminated and taught by eminent scholars of Modern Greek studies, such as Hubert Pernot and André Mirambel? The Paris of 1897 emerges through C. P. Cavafy’s letters and travel notes, as well as through valuable archival documents tracing his travels.

A two-day research meeting brings to the fore the relationship between the Alexandrian poet and the French capital. Francophone scholars of Modern Greek studies and researchers will ‘map’ the historical and artistic environment of the era, examining Cavafy’s erudition in French literature, his love for the French language, and the reception of his work by the French public.

Organized under the auspices of the Department of Philology of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the meeting is co-organized with the Institut Néohellénique de la Sorbonne and INALCO in Paris—institutions that have hosted distinguished scholars and influential university teachers, such as Hubert Pernot, André Mirambel, and C. Th. Dimaras, among others, who shaped the reception of Cavafy’s work by the European readers and international critics. A central objective of the meeting is the exploration of the poet’s relationship with the European literary movements of the late 19th century (Symbolism, Aestheticism) as a decisive condition in shaping his poetry.

Quinet Amphitheatre (46, rue Saint-Jacques)

14:00 | Welcome remarks

Claire Le Feuvre, Director of the Department of Classical Studies,

Professor, Sorbonne University

Marie-Pierre Noël, Director of EDITTA, Professor, Sorbonne University

Lena Arabatzidou, Director of the Department of Modern Greek,

Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Étienne Boisserie, Co-director of CREE, Professor, INALCO

KEY-NOTE SPEECH

Moderator: Christina Dounia

14:30 – 15:30 | “‘The advantage of pronouns’: Cavafy and the French language, between ‘discreet firmness’ and ‘the new expression of love’” / Filippomaria Pontani (Ca’ Foscari University, Venice)

15:30 – 15:50 | Discussion

15:50 – 16:00 | Break

FIRST SESSION

CAVAFY’S FOOTSTEPS

Moderator: Alkisti Sofou

16:00 – 16:20 | “Cavafy’s ‘Second Odyssey’, Tennyson’s ‘Ulysses’ and Canto XXVI of Dante’s ‘Inferno’” / Evanghélia Stead (Paris-Saclay)

16:20 – 16:40 | “Cavafy and Sparta” / Pierre Pontier (Sorbonne University)

16:40 – 17:00 | “Cavafy and French literature” / Christina Dounia (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

17:00 – 17:30 | Discussion

18:00 | Visit to the Neo-Hellenic Institute at the Sorbonne (George Kostakiotis) and presentation of the Hubert Pernot Archives (Alkisti Sofou)

Guizot Amphitheatre (14, rue Cujas)

09:30 – 10:00 | Registration

SECOND SESSION

CAVAFY’S PARIS IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY

Moderator: George Kostakiotis

10:00 – 10:20 | “Cavafy in Paris in 1897: French and Greek context” / Alkisti Sofou (Sorbonne University)

10:20 – 10:40 | “C. P. Cavafy or the paradox of a non-travelling poet” / Martha Vassiliadi (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

10:40 – 11:00 | Discussion

11:00 – 11:20 | Break

CAVAFY AND THE ARTS

Moderator: Martha Vassiliadi

11:20 – 11:40 | “Music in Cavafy’s poetry and his 1897 visit to Paris; the disappearing figure of the musician” (presentation in Greek) / Polina Tambakaki (King’s College London)

11:40 – 12:00 | “Ut pictura poesis: Gustave Moreau and C.P. Cavafy” / Dimitris Angelatos (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

12:00 – 12:20 | “In Dialogue with mass culture: Cavafy and the popular entertainments of 1890s Paris” (presentation in Greek) / Ioulia Pipinia (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

12:20 – 12:40 | Discussion

THIRD SESSION

CAVAFY’S RECEPTION IN FRANCE

Moderator: Dimitris Angelatos

14:30 – 14:50 | “Ambassadors from Alexandria: earliest echos of Cavafy in France (1918-1930)” / Melina Moschou (Sorbonne University)

14:50 – 15:10 | “French Hellenists and C.P. Cavafy: André Mirambel’s course notes” / George Kostakiotis (INALCO)

15:10 – 15:20 | Discussion

15:20 – 15:30 | Break

15:30 – 15:50 | “Constantin Cavafy, a Yourcenarian passion” / André-Alain Morello (University of Toulon)

15:50 – 16:10 | “Cavafy, the city and hauntological poetics: From Ersi Sotiropoulou’s novel What’s left of the night to ‘In Broad Daylight’” (presentation in Greek) / Maria Boletsi (University of Amsterdam / Leiden University)

16:10 – 16:30 | Discussion

17:00 | Closing remarks / Alkisti Sofou, Martha Vassiliadi, George Kostakiotis

ORGANIZED BY

Institut Néohellénique de la Sorbonne, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), Cavafy Archive, Onassis Foundation.

CURATORIAL COMMITEE

Martha Vassiliadi, Associate Professor of Modern Greek Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Alkisti Sofou, Maîtresse de conférences, Department of Greek Studies, Sorbonne University, Paris

Georges Kostakiotis, Maître de conférences, INALCO, Paris

GUEST SPEAKERS

Dimitris Angelatos, Professor of Modern Greek Literature and Literary Theory, Faculty of Philology, Department of Modern Greek Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Maria Boletsi, Endowed Professor of Modern Greek Studies, University of Amsterdam (Marilena Laskaridis Chair), and Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Leiden University (The Netherlands)

Christina Dounia, Emerita Professor of Modern Greek Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Georges Kostakiotis, Maître de conférences, INALCO, Paris

André-Alain Morello, Emeritus Associate Professor of French Literature, University of Toulon

Melina Moschou, PhD candidate in Comparative Literature, Sorbonne University, Paris

Ioulia Pipinia, Associate Professor of Theatre Studies, Department of Drama, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Filippo-Maria Pontani, Professor of Classical Philology, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa (Italy)

Pierre Pontier, Maître de conférences in Ancient Greek Philology, Sorbonne University, Paris

Alkisti Sofou, Maîtresse de conférences, Department of Greek Studies, Sorbonne University, Paris

Evanghélia Stead, Professor of Comparative Literature and Print Culture, University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Paris-Saclay University

Polina Tambakaki, Research Fellow at the Centre for Hellenic Studies (CHS), King’s College London

Martha Vassiliadi, Associate Professor of Modern Greek Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki