To be and not to have been: kill lists and poetry
When a writer or a translator strips a well-known work down to its essence, as Alice Oswald had done with The Iliad in Memorial, the narrative takes on almost new meaning. In… Read more »
The changing of the pens
In England, where they like to do things ceremonially, one pen has been retired and another is about to be inaugurated. These are, mind you, no ordinary Pilot Precise V5… Read more »
In response to hedge fund support of T.S. Eliot prize, John Kinsella issues manifesto on poetry as activism
Poet John Kinsella published a rousing manifesto of poetry as activism in the New Statesman yesterday. He recently pulled out of the T.S. Eliot prize, days after Alice Oswald also renounced her… Read more »
Sing it again, Goddess: Do we really need a new translation of the Iliad?
With three new translations of The Iliad plus a new edition of Richmond Lattimore’s classic 1951 translation due out this month, The Economist wonders if it’s all really necessary. The article… 3 / Read more »