The New York Review of Books

December 5, 2015

“A Crisp and Merciless Clarity”: Mary Beard’s SPQR

I haven’t read the latest book by Mary Beard yet, but this NY Times review is certainly enough to whet my readerly appetite: How on earth did they do it? The Greek historian Polybius, writing in the second century B.C., was the first to ask the question: “Who could be so indifferent or so idle that they Continue reading

books, Uncategorized

History, in our time, mary beard, new york times book review, rome, spqr, The New York Review of Books

November 24, 2015

Sensual Sappho

Wow, what a great response to the Sappho episode of the History of Literature podcast. An all-time record for downloads in a day! You can catch up on the Sappho episode (or any other episode) by subscribing on iTunes or Android or Stitcher, or just typing “History of Literature” into whatever podcast app you use. Continue reading

Arts, Authors, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

ancient greece, cinema paradiso, edith hall, Poetry, The New York Review of Books

December 8, 2013

Dante in Translation

In my shout-out to Graywolf press yesterday I neglected to mention their well-received edition of Dante, translated by the accomplished poet Mary Jo Bang. Writing in The New York Review of Books, Robert Pogue Harrison makes a strong case for Bang’s translation over the recent Clive James version. It does sound better. But frankly I’m not sure either is Continue reading

Authors, Publishing, Writing

Clive James, Dante, Dante Alighieri, inferno, Mary Jo Bang, Robert Pogue Harrison, The New York Review of Books, Translation