Waiting for the Barbarians
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| - | '''''Waiting for the Barbarians''''' is a [[Greek language|Greek]] poem by [[Constantine P. Cavafy]], written in November 1898 and first published in 1904. It depicts a day in an unnamed city-state where everything has come to a halt because the population is awaiting the arrival of "the barbarians", who they plan to welcome. | + | '''''Waiting for the Barbarians''''' is a [[novel]] by the [[South Africa]]n-born [[Nobel Prize|Nobel]] laureate [[J. M. Coetzee]]. First published in 1980, it was chosen by Penguin for its series ''[[Great Books of the 20th Century]]'' and won both the [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] and [[Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize]] for fiction. American composer [[Philip Glass]] has also written an [[Waiting for the Barbarians (opera)|opera of the same name]] based on the book which premiered in September 2005 in [[Erfurt]], [[Germany]]. |
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| - | [[Daniel Mendelsohn]] (one of many translators who has produced an English version of "Waiting") has said that the poem's portrayal of a state whose lawmakers sit in stagnant idleness was "particularly prescient" in light of the [[United States federal government shutdown of 2013]]. | + | |
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| - | [[Robert Pinsky]] has described it as "cunning" and "amusing". [[Charles Simić]] has called it "an apt description of any state that needs enemies, real or imaginary, as a perpetual excuse", while ''[[the Independent]]'' considered the poem's final line evocative of "the dangers implied by the end of the [[Cold War]]". | + | |
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| - | [[J. M. Coetzee]]'s 1980 novel ''[[Waiting for the Barbarians]]'' is named for the poem. | + | |
| + | Coetzee took the title from the poem "[[Waiting for the Barbarians (poem)|Waiting for the Barbarians]]" by [[Greek people|Greek]] poet [[Constantine P. Cavafy]]. | ||
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Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee. First published in 1980, it was chosen by Penguin for its series Great Books of the 20th Century and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction. American composer Philip Glass has also written an opera of the same name based on the book which premiered in September 2005 in Erfurt, Germany.
Coetzee took the title from the poem "Waiting for the Barbarians" by Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Waiting for the Barbarians" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
