ONE OF THE MOST PECULIAR artifacts preserved in the Kavaph Archive consists of five lined reference pages on the recto of which Kavaph carefully copied in ink the entire third part of his essay by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON titled “Old Mortality” (published 1884/1887).
When was the copying done and for what reason? Was the selection of this text by Kavaph accidental? A mechanical exercise in calligraphy that does not imply any substantial connection between the copier and the subject or content of what he copied? Or perhaps there is a deeper reason underlying this seemingly random choice, related to incidents and matters of Kavaph’s life and foreshadowing the emotional impact that would later influence his art;
This current study attempts to outline a possible answer to this complex question, a working hypothesis, in which two leading writers, K. P. Kavaph and Robert Louis Stevenson, are examined under the lens of each experiencing their own form of grief.
The publication is complemented by the translation of Stevenson’s entire essay (“Old Mortality”) by D. Kapsali, serving as a natural extension of the thoughts and feelings that this unexpected encounter may evoke in the contemporary reader.
