Loosed in Translation discussion

The Iliad
This topic is about The Iliad
19 views
The Nature of Translation > Homer's Iliad

Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Greg (new) - added it

Greg McConeghy | 5 comments It is a New Year 2016, and time again to re-visit The Iliad. There is a fascinating article today in The Daily Beast by James Romm on Translating the Iliad

.http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles...

Suddenly we have many new 21st Century translations. Every generation needs to rethink The Iliad, and there is a bewildering number to choose from. And why not. Homer is like a fine wine, I say, and one can never have too many fine wines.

And speaking of wines, I myself read the Lombardo translation in September 2015 while traveling through Turkey, even while standing on whats left of the walls of Troy itself. A fantastic, mystical moment for sure. A Goodreads friend, Jonathan, suggested that I offer a wine libation to the gods while visiting Troy, and I want him to know that I did just that, albeit with bottled water, but the thought was there, and I think I felt a slight breeze in acknowledgment.
I have the Lattimore, and Fitzgerald, and Fagles translations on my shelves, read over approximately 10 year intervals. So I am good for a few years, who knows how many more translations there could be by then.
For your added pleasure, from The New Yorker October 2011:

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...

Happy Reading to all in 2016


message 2: by Jimmy (new) - added it

Jimmy (jimmylorunning) | 140 comments Mod
Cool! Thanks for posting. I'll have to check those translations out.


Caroline (carobibliophile) | 17 comments Greg wrote: "It is a New Year 2016, and time again to re-visit The Iliad. There is a fascinating article today in The Daily Beast by James Romm on Translating the Iliad

.http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2..."


Thanks for the links. Just saw somethig abut the expanded Logue a couple of days ago. Great note about
the libation.


Bryn Hammond (brynhammond) | 16 comments I did not know they had proliferated lately.
I saw the new Logue too, in GR's newsletter -- here it is: Logue's Homer: Collected War Music
Now I have to follow to the article that says Pope hasn't been beat. Last year I decided I find the Lattimore most authentic, while the other Rs, Fitzgerald and Fagles, struck their own modern note which I didn't want. But I'm of the party that see Pope's Iliad as a great poem.


Bryn Hammond (brynhammond) | 16 comments After reading a few reviews I find I have to put both Peter Green and Caroline Alexander on my list. These sound like interesting translations; Green as authentic as Lattimore (perhaps with better choices here and there), Alexander with the writing skill. I don't know if I need more Iliads to try out, but now I know they exist...


back to top