. . . .Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

    Arriving there is what you’re destined for.

     But don’t hurry the journey at all.

    Better if it lasts for years

    so you’re old by the time you reach the island . . .C.P. Cavafy

Cavafy is generally thought to be the greatest Greek poet of the current era and Ithaka is considered to be his masterpiece. Presented here set in the original Greek with English translations.

Duane Michals, inspired by Cavafy and his poetry, has given us five photogravures, each utterly breathtaking and glowing with ethereal beauty. As gifted with words, he has written the brilliant Afterword: Cavafy’s Reveries.

Jon Goodman, in his Massachusetts studio made the gravure plates and printed Michals’ sensuous photogravures. The books were hand sewn and bound in dark purple Japanese linen at Jovonis Bookbindery in Springfield, Massachusetts. The same linen covers the lined boxes for the books and portfolios.