My first encounter with the poetry of Kavvadia happened when I listened to the very popular music album by Thanos Mikroutsikos, "The Cross of the South." So, being impressed and moved by the songs of this album, I searched for books with poetry by Nikos Kavvadias.

Here I must clarify that personally I am not a seafaring type like the poet was. But that doesn't hinder me in any way from properly appreciating his poetry.

This book is a commemorative edition for the 40 years since the poet's death. It is beautifully crafted with photolithographs featuring engravings by great artists of 1947. The uniqueness of this edition is the reason why the work does not have page numbers. So, it is not a mistake of the very well-made and exceptional AGRA editions.

The great achievement of Nikos Kavvadias is that he skillfully and originally uses nautical language and terminology to build his poetry. From his poems, it is evident that the poet had a good relationship with people.

This book absorbed me to such an extent that my first reading of it was half inside the bookstore and half on the street! This has never happened to me with any other book.

The poems in this collection are written with similar endings, which of course makes them ideal for musical adaptation. The poems in the book evoked feelings of humanity and tenderness in me. But also sadness for the very harsh life of sailors. A life full of deprivation, hardships, and serious illnesses.

The book is printed in polytonic as all the books of great poets like George Seferis and Odysseas Elytis, who, along with Kavvadias, belong to the significant literary generation of the '30s.

I recommend this work to all poetry lovers and firmly believe that Nikos Kavvadias is a very important poet and writer. Also, AGRA editions are among the best in Greece, and all their books are particularly well-crafted and aesthetically pleasing.

Read the complete and comprehensive review at the following address:

http://inkybooky.blogspot.com/2016/09/blog-post.html