NICOS HADJICOSTIS CONVERSING WITH CAVAFY

Nicos Hadjicostis is a Greek Cypriot whose passions are philosophy, writing. and travel. For six-and-a-half years, he explored six continents, taking the “middle way” of traveling — neither backpacking nor staying at luxury hotels. This experience provided the material for his Destination Earth (2016) where he provides a new philosophy of travel, viewing travel as the ultimate university, a way of life, and a pathway to world citizenship. Now he has written Conversing with Cavafy: Reflections on the Journey of Our Life (2024).

This is a unique work that is beautifully realized. The writing is clear, the chapters short, the ideas accessible, and the content substantial. We are offered philosophical essays with literary grace that address many of life’s big questions. With a light touch, the author leads us through a variety of themes, all anchored in daily life. The personal wisdom of a cultivated mind comes through in conversations with literary and philosophical masters, above all C.P. Cavafy, the Greek poet of a century ago.

The book is not a meditation on Cavafy and there is no attempt to interpret his poems. In the final section, the poems mentioned in the essays are gathered together. Nevertheless, Cavafy is an important presence in the book, coming to life as a flawed person who redeemed himself through his art. Weak in the face of desire but courageous in his self-inquiry, Cavafy has left us many poems that distill his life’s lessons in simple, precise, and yet memorable language. The author celebrates him as a great teacher.

At the heart of the book are the author’s own reflections that are the product of decades of experience and study. HIs sensibility has both a southern and northern European flavor. There is a down-to-earth practicality that comes from attention to daily life, immersion in the surroundings, and sensual appreciation of our field of experience. This side is well represented by Cavafy, and Proust as well. At the same time, the author probes, looks beneath the surfaces, and takes us into the rarefied atmosphere where Beethoven, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Jung, and the existential philosophers dwell. In addition, an East-West note is sounded when Aurobindo is invoked to show us how the resistance of the universe to our aims leads to creations and achievements that are the source of our greatest joys.

The author takes up the issue of our two lives in the first chapter. The first is daily life in which we carry out our mundane tasks and the second is the life we are meant to live. Neither ought to take precedence. A middle way, of which Cavafy is the exemplar, is preferred. Cavafy is a person who fully lived in both worlds at the same time. His achievement was to transform the unremarkable routines of his life, what he felt, longed for, and went through, into poetry that still speaks to us today. That was his vocation. This chapter sets the tone of the book, and both sides are present throughout the author’s reflections on life’s journey.

As I encountered the various themes, I saw that my vocabulary and reference points were often quite different. This only increased the pleasure, since I had the chance to try out some new perspectives. I also admired how the author expressed his reflections with assurance and authority in an engaging and well-shaped narrative, transforming life into art.

Nicos Hadjicostis