At the entrance of the port of Argostoli, we meet a bust of a man with a navy cap and a pencil in hand to look at the sea and the ships that come and go. He is none other than the famous Kefalonian poet Nikos Kavvadias (1910-1975) whose poems are known to all Greeks because of their composition.

Nikos Kavvadias was born in Mantzouria by Kephalonian parents. His early years he lived in Kefalonia and his father’s house still exists in Fiskardo. Later the family moved to Piraeus. Kavvadias embarked at an early age as a radio broadcaster and lived all his life in the sea traveling around the world. He published three poetry collections, “Marabou” (1933), “Poussi” (1947) and “Traverso” (1975), while he also wrote a few stories in prose (The Shift, Li, Of War / on my horse). As long as he was alive, Kavvadias did not receive any special recognition from his colleagues, but later became one of the most recognizable and popular poets, as most of his poems were performed by great Greek composers. Personal tragedies as well as the important events of the 20th century marked his personality, and these, combined with the sensitivity of his eye, the love of the sea and woman, were imprinted on paper as “scruffy, small seashells” to use the words of.

The bust of Nikos Kavvadias was funded by the New York Capitals Association, painted by sculptor Nikolaos Ikaris, and its unveiling took place in 1983. Since many Kefalonians are immigrants and sailors, Nikos Kavvadias symbolizes the free spirit of them who travel around the world, sometimes with humor and sometimes with nostalgia, but always with passion, describes his experiences without forgetting his place. Together with Andreas Laskaratos, they are the most prominent Kefalonian writers of the 20th century.