"Despite the resurgence of interest in the field of late antiquity, there are still too few authors from the period available in translation--and of the few who are translated, most, like Ausonius, are available only in arcane and unreadable English. Ausonius is one of the more accessible late antique writers, and Slavitt's choice of texts to translate reflects his accessibility--the Cento gives us a taste of Ausonius's bizarre sense of humor, and the Commemorations gives us a glimpse into his personal network of friends, teachers, and relatives, and into the everyday life of a...
"Despite the resurgence of interest in the field of late antiquity, there are still too few authors from the period available in translation--and of t...
Epinician Odes and Dithyrambs of Bacchylides Translated by David R. Slavitt "Slavitt has an astonishing knack for making classical poetry readable and, above all, experienceable. . . . He] seems to have a free and easy--and very personal--conversance with the ancient world, and this is refreshing indeed; it makes that whole world available to us in ways it has not been before. . . . He has such an easy, tolerant, believable relationship with the ancient world and its authors that making the changeover from that world to ours is less a leap than an enjoyable stroll."--James Dickey Until a...
Epinician Odes and Dithyrambs of Bacchylides Translated by David R. Slavitt "Slavitt has an astonishing knack for making classical poetry readable and...
In this witty and sharply observant memoir, David R. Slavitt recounts his day-to-day life on the campaign trail, describing the often surreal experience of being a pro-choice, pro-gay-marriage GOP candidate running against a pro-life, anti-gay-marriage Democrat. When Slavitt decided to make a run for the Massachusetts State Legislature in 2004, he knew the odds were against him. Though a well-respected writer, he was a political novice and a moderate Republican in a district where defeating any Democrat was next to impossible. But in the grandest of American traditions, hoping for the best...
In this witty and sharply observant memoir, David R. Slavitt recounts his day-to-day life on the campaign trail, describing the often surreal experien...
In The Seven Deadly Sins and Other Poems, veteran poet David R. Slavitt touches on topics from the mundane to the mysterious with his signature wit and intelligence. In "Stupid," for instance, he transforms a simple head cold into an appreciation for the richness of consciousness, and in "Waking," the very effort of rising from bed becomes something like a miracle: "I heave myself up to a sitting position, pause / a moment, and am amazed by what I have done...." Slavitt explores the range of the human condition with such ease and insight that readers cannot help but ponder what life is --...
In The Seven Deadly Sins and Other Poems, veteran poet David R. Slavitt touches on topics from the mundane to the mysterious with his signature wit...
In this highly praised new translation of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy, David R. Slavitt presents a graceful, accessible, and modern version for both longtime admirers of one of the great masterpieces of philosophical literature and those encountering it for the first time. Slavitt preserves the distinction between the alternating verse and prose sections in the Latin original, allowing us to appreciate the Menippian parallels between the discourses of literary and logical inquiry. His prose translations are lively and colloquial, conveying the argumentative,...
In this highly praised new translation of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy, David R. Slavitt presents a graceful, accessible, and mo...
Giovanni Boccaccio is famous for his masterpiece The Decameron, but his Latin Eclogues are relatively unknown. David R. Slavitt's English translation makes these important pieces accessible to a new audience of readers.
Elegant and engaging, these pastoral poems address the great issues of Boccaccio's Italy, including the political and military intrigues of the day. Boccaccio modeled his poems on Petrarch's eclogues and, before him, those of Virgil and Theocritus. Slavitt's impeccable translations are highly readable, while his editorial interjections both elucidate...
Giovanni Boccaccio is famous for his masterpiece The Decameron, but his Latin Eclogues are relatively unknown. David R. Slavitt's Eng...
Widely praised for his recent translations of Boethius and Ariosto, David R. Slavitt returns to Ovid, once again bringing to the contemporary ear the spirited, idiomatic, audacious charms of this master poet.
The love described here is the anguished, ruinous kind, for which Ovid was among the first to find expression. In the Amores, he testifies to the male experience, and in the companion Heroides--through a series of dramatic monologues addressed to absent lovers--he imagines how love goes for women. "You think she is ardent with you? So was she ardent with him,"...
Widely praised for his recent translations of Boethius and Ariosto, David R. Slavitt returns to Ovid, once again bringing to the contemporary ear t...
The appearance of David R. Slavitt's translation of Orlando Furioso ("Mad Orlando"), one of the great literary achievements of the Italian Renaissance, is a publishing event. With this lively new verse translation, Slavitt introduces readers to Ariosto's now neglected masterpiece--a poem whose impact on Western literature can scarcely be exaggerated. It was a major influence on Spenser's Faerie Queene. William Shakespeare borrowed one of its plots. Voltaire called it the equal of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Don Quixote combined. More recently, Italo Calvino...
The appearance of David R. Slavitt's translation of Orlando Furioso ("Mad Orlando"), one of the great literary achievements of the Italian Rena...
In this volume, David R. Slavitt, the distinguished translator and author of more than one hundred works of fiction, poetry, and drama, turns his skills to Il Canzoniere (Songbook) by Petrarch, the most influential poet in the history of the sonnet. In Petrarch's hands, lyric verse was transformed from an expression of courtly devotion into a way of conversing with one's own heart and mind. Slavitt renders the sonnets in Il Canzoniere, along with the shorter madrigals and ballate, in a sparkling and engaging idiom and in rhythm and rhyme that do justice to Petrarch's...
In this volume, David R. Slavitt, the distinguished translator and author of more than one hundred works of fiction, poetry, and drama, turns his s...
This volume of poetry illustrates a new side of the author of The Carnivore and Suits for the Dead. The wit, the toughness, the shining lyric clarity of the earlier books are still here, but they have been joined by a quiet understanding, a joyfulness, and an acceptance of things as they are that indicates the poet has moved into a new and most exciting period.
Originally published in 1969.
A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were...
This volume of poetry illustrates a new side of the author of The Carnivore and Suits for the Dead. The wit, the toughness, the shining ...