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The Penguin Book of Greek and Latin Lyric Verse
'Inspired and enlightening ... here is a work of staggering ambition, exceptional accomplishment, and surprisingly pleasant reading ... an excellent gift for anyone interested in classical literature' A. E. Stallings, Telegraph
'An extraordinary feat ... Over and over, I was impressed both by Childers's technical abilities and his vivid way of evoking the multiple voices in this rich tradition' Emily Wilson, translator of the Odyssey and the Iliad
'Where does the lyric begin? One answer – a capacious and generous one – is given by Christopher Childers's anthology, in which translations of both Greek and Latin lyric poetry are offered in large servings, with extensive and ambitious commentary ... bold and worthwhile ... readable and learned' Peter McDonald, TLS
'An extraordinary achievement, in scope, scale and skill' Richard Jenkyns, author of Classical Literature
The poems in this lively, wide-ranging and richly enjoyable anthology are the work of priestesses and warriors; of philosophers and statesmen; of teenage girls, concerned for their birthday celebrations; of drunkards and brawlers; of grumpy old men, and chic young things. Their authors write – or sing – about hopes, fears, loves, losses, triumphs and humiliations. Every one of them lived and died between 1,900 and 2,800 years ago.
The Penguin Book of Greek and Latin Lyric Verse is a volume without precedent. It brings together the best of two traditions normally treated in isolation, and in doing so tells a captivating story about how literature and book-culture emerged from an oral society in which memory and learning were transmitted through song. The classical vision of lyric poetry as understood by the greatest ancient poets – Sappho and Horace, Bacchylides and Catullus – mingles and interacts with our expansive modern vision of the lyric as the brief, personal, emotional poetry of a human soul laid bare.
Anyone looking for a picture of what ancient poets were up to when they were simply singing to the gods, or to their friends, or otherwise opening little verbal windows into their life and times can find it here. It is a volume full of fire and an undertaking of astonishing reach, and an accomplishment magisterial in its scope.
'An extraordinary feat ... Over and over, I was impressed both by Childers's technical abilities and his vivid way of evoking the multiple voices in this rich tradition' Emily Wilson, translator of the Odyssey and the Iliad
'Where does the lyric begin? One answer – a capacious and generous one – is given by Christopher Childers's anthology, in which translations of both Greek and Latin lyric poetry are offered in large servings, with extensive and ambitious commentary ... bold and worthwhile ... readable and learned' Peter McDonald, TLS
'An extraordinary achievement, in scope, scale and skill' Richard Jenkyns, author of Classical Literature
The poems in this lively, wide-ranging and richly enjoyable anthology are the work of priestesses and warriors; of philosophers and statesmen; of teenage girls, concerned for their birthday celebrations; of drunkards and brawlers; of grumpy old men, and chic young things. Their authors write – or sing – about hopes, fears, loves, losses, triumphs and humiliations. Every one of them lived and died between 1,900 and 2,800 years ago.
The Penguin Book of Greek and Latin Lyric Verse is a volume without precedent. It brings together the best of two traditions normally treated in isolation, and in doing so tells a captivating story about how literature and book-culture emerged from an oral society in which memory and learning were transmitted through song. The classical vision of lyric poetry as understood by the greatest ancient poets – Sappho and Horace, Bacchylides and Catullus – mingles and interacts with our expansive modern vision of the lyric as the brief, personal, emotional poetry of a human soul laid bare.
Anyone looking for a picture of what ancient poets were up to when they were simply singing to the gods, or to their friends, or otherwise opening little verbal windows into their life and times can find it here. It is a volume full of fire and an undertaking of astonishing reach, and an accomplishment magisterial in its scope.
977 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 12, 2024
7/10
Have read a fair amount of these authors already from the Oxford World Classic edition of Greek Lyric Poetry, and I'll be getting to most of the Romans soon in my own time. But this feels like a pretty definitive collection of Lyric in both the ancient and modern definition of the word, not to mention the fact that bringing together the poets of Ancient Greece and Rome for the first(?) time really helps illuminuate the continuities and innovations of the form across both civilisations.
Have read a fair amount of these authors already from the Oxford World Classic edition of Greek Lyric Poetry, and I'll be getting to most of the Romans soon in my own time. But this feels like a pretty definitive collection of Lyric in both the ancient and modern definition of the word, not to mention the fact that bringing together the poets of Ancient Greece and Rome for the first(?) time really helps illuminuate the continuities and innovations of the form across both civilisations.
May 16, 2024
Precioso. Rebosante de tesoros, especialmente en la sección griega que, por fortuna, es la más amplia.
April 24, 2025
Ten years in the making, this is an almost unbelievable amount of work from a translator across 2 different languages and a period of approaching a thousand years. Was it time well spent?
For me there are two talking points in particular:
1. The decision to write rhyming verse. I think I follow, and I respect, the logic of his reasons for this: that classical poetry was a matter of very definite technique, as opposed to free verse, and that the way to represent this in English is by rhyme. Nevertheless it is odd to attempt to represent non-rhyming poetry (which classical poetry is) by rhyme. And that leads onto:
2. Childers is an American. Nothing wrong with that in itself, in spite of current world events, but it comes as a surprise for a Penguin publication and it definitely affects the translation. You can hear the American accent at times, which for a British reader is an unwanted distraction; American spelling is adhered to; and the rhyme amplifies it. There are quite a few which might just about work in a North Carolina accent, but certainly not in my Manchester one.
And, let's be honest, there are a few that just don't work at all; just as there are times when the rhymes jingle-jangle mechanically so as to remind you why art poetry has mostly abandoned them. Childers diction, too, is at times too anachronistically colloquial - the god Pan 'jitterbugging'? Of course all English words post-date the classical era, but it is important not to draw attention to the fact by invoking specifically modern pop-cultural phenomena.
As for the selection of poetry itself, I am only beginning to come to grips with it. But many pieces are sniggering and smutty. They prove, perhaps, that the ancients had sex and a sense of fun, but they don't do a lot to demonstrate the higher feelings. So far I have only read one that I would consider poetic in the fullest sense, and that the shortest:
You watch the stars, my star. Were I the wide
heavens, then I would watch you, starry-eyed.
...but as I say it is early days in exploring this massive book.
The 400 pages of notes are excessive by any standard. I also don't like the use of BCE/CE instead of BC/AD - a nonsensical modern academic convention. But reservations aside, you have to applaud the translator's intention and achievement in at least attempting to present this material in the form of *proper poetry*.
For me there are two talking points in particular:
1. The decision to write rhyming verse. I think I follow, and I respect, the logic of his reasons for this: that classical poetry was a matter of very definite technique, as opposed to free verse, and that the way to represent this in English is by rhyme. Nevertheless it is odd to attempt to represent non-rhyming poetry (which classical poetry is) by rhyme. And that leads onto:
2. Childers is an American. Nothing wrong with that in itself, in spite of current world events, but it comes as a surprise for a Penguin publication and it definitely affects the translation. You can hear the American accent at times, which for a British reader is an unwanted distraction; American spelling is adhered to; and the rhyme amplifies it. There are quite a few which might just about work in a North Carolina accent, but certainly not in my Manchester one.
And, let's be honest, there are a few that just don't work at all; just as there are times when the rhymes jingle-jangle mechanically so as to remind you why art poetry has mostly abandoned them. Childers diction, too, is at times too anachronistically colloquial - the god Pan 'jitterbugging'? Of course all English words post-date the classical era, but it is important not to draw attention to the fact by invoking specifically modern pop-cultural phenomena.
As for the selection of poetry itself, I am only beginning to come to grips with it. But many pieces are sniggering and smutty. They prove, perhaps, that the ancients had sex and a sense of fun, but they don't do a lot to demonstrate the higher feelings. So far I have only read one that I would consider poetic in the fullest sense, and that the shortest:
You watch the stars, my star. Were I the wide
heavens, then I would watch you, starry-eyed.
...but as I say it is early days in exploring this massive book.
The 400 pages of notes are excessive by any standard. I also don't like the use of BCE/CE instead of BC/AD - a nonsensical modern academic convention. But reservations aside, you have to applaud the translator's intention and achievement in at least attempting to present this material in the form of *proper poetry*.
April 4, 2025
Liked some translations more than others. Translations of Sappho were excellent, some of the best I've read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews