Love Poems of Catullus

by Catullus, Tynan Kogane (Editor)

Among the most cherished love poems ever written, Catullus’s brilliant, everlasting verses are collected here in a marvelous mix of English translations.  Catullus was undoubtedly one of the most intimate, witty, vivid, and tender poets of antiquity. Perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to truthfully reveal the fleeting instants of his bare moments of erotic passion, of scorn and jealousy, of heartfelt devotion, of consuming love. The cycle of poems to his love, “Lesbia,” have entranced poets and translators across the centuries, enriching many different traditions in English-language poetry.
This anthology of Catullus’s love poems showcases translations from many New Directions authors, including James Laughlin, Bernadette Mayer, Muriel Spark, and Louis and Celia Zukofsky, as well as beloved timeless translations, like those of Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, and inimitable modern versions from the likes of Dorothy Parker and Horace Gregory. Also included are several newly commissioned translations from contemporary poets and writers.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2023

About the author

Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 BC – ca. 54 BC) was a Roman poet of the 1st century BC. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art. Catullus invented the "angry love poem."

Reviews

[yue ☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

imagine going into this book thinking it'd just be translations of catullus' poems and on page 13 anne carson's talking about deng xiaoping and a terrier's genitalia djfksldfjdsld anyway a good short calming read with some extremely funny poems (most by carson):

"(Hello Not Very Small Nosed Girl)

Catullus compares an unnamed girl to his own love.

Your nose is wrong.
Your feet are wrong.
Your eyes are wrong your mouth is wrong.
Your pimp is wrong even his name is wrong.
Who cares what they say, you're not—
Why can't I
Live in the nineteenth century." -- carson

"I really was an idiot to trust
someone I know to be obsessed with sin
around my love. I thought, she's not his kin
and so she's not a target for his lust...

He reassured me, did not even lie.
'I love her like a sister.' Should have known
that means she's on his list of girls to bone." -- kaveney

and also very good lines:

"84. I have and love. Why? You may ask but
it beats me. I feel it done to me, and ache." -- pound

"85. Hate and love. Who knows why?
Nothing I say chokes the ache." -- corman

also this by carson that could be a mitski title: "(You Promise Me My Love That This Our Love) The poet prays for length of love."

[sophia]

i really liked how there were a variety of translators and showed multiple translations for each poem ! it really showed how much of an impact translators have on the final product (anne carson ily). catullus is such a silly little guy idk lowk obsessed

[Chloe Bridgeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

horny romans- my fav.

I liked that there was so much variety in translators but didn't love how some of them used modern slang; felt out of place. I am sure Catullus would have loved the word boning but doubt that was the word he used.

[elaje · Rating 5 out of 5]

The circumstances in which I received this book were extremely sucky….but the translations are so well done and I love the way the book is structured and the poems were amazing

[Elizabeth]

this is the ideal poetry reading experience to me. lots of little treats that are all very different like chocolates in a box

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This variety of older and more contemporary translations and interpretations of Catullus's poems shows why he was so good and why he's still so appealing today.

(For Trent, on the Death of His Pet Dove, Larry)

Weep, Venuses & Cupids--vent,
All gentle folk with human feeling--
Trent's bird has died and left him reeling--
That bird was everything to Trent.

It was denominated Larry,
Christened thus, for deemed a boy--
Until *she* laid an egg--then joy!
A ring-necked dove, no mere canary,

Two years she shared his smiles and sorrows,
He fed her treats and changed her papers,
Now let us week, and light the tapers,
For Larry has no more tomorrows;

N0w she has flown the loathsome road
Down which all mortal men must troop
And not return. She's flown the coop
And found a dusty new abode.

The cat was ruled as cause of death--
I see its eyes, like wicked lamps
As round as innocence; it vamps
In the black ground of a Velasquez,

But wrongful Death, it's you I blame.
You petty thief, it was absurd
To pilfer such a dainty bird
With so incongruous a name.

Greedy for everything that's fluffy,
You pocket all that's soft and sweet--
And make your villainy complete
By leaving Trent's eyes red and puffy. (15-16)

translated by A.E. Stallings

[Ren He · Rating 4 out of 5]

a gift for my chrissy's birthday. catullus writes love like it's a wound he keeps picking open. like drunk kissing in an alley or getting cursed out in a church. loving hard and hating harder

favorite poems - 7 by vincent katz, 48 by james laughlin, 50!!! by anne carson, 51 by tiffany atkinson, 109 by horace gregory

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poems in this collection range from very sweet to wildly vulgar. The translations in this collection range from very close to I-replaced-everything-with-21st-century-slang. It's very... interesting.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

catullus was talented and his work was only improved by a certain someones annotations <3
merci ma chère isa

[Andrea Tongsak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely collection. 82, 83, 85, 86 were my favorites. Nicely translated and beautiful turns of phrase.

[Caroline Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean it was a good time but they weren’t all Catullus poems?