Poems from the Greek Anthology: Expanded Edition (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)
J**X
Greek Anthology Revisited.
Go tell the King: The daedalWalls have fallen to the earthPhoibos has no sanctuary,No prophetic laurel, noSpeaking spring. The garrulousWater has dried up at last.THE LAST UTTERANCE OF THE DELPHIC ORACLEThis is one of my favorite poems in this collection.Friend to the Beats, organizer of the Six Gallery poetry reading in 1955, and iconoclastic poet extraordinary, Kenneth Rexroth turned his imagination in the early sixties to a selection of verses from The Greek Anthology. In his characteristically lively style he successfully captured the spirit of the originals by such poets as Sappho, Anyte, Glycon, Antipatros, leonidas, Asclepiades, and Ammianos.Students of the classics as well as poets and translators welcome this collection for the insight and the dexterity of its unconventional editor.
C**N
Pleasant collection of short texts, amusing to serious. More Rexroth than Greek.
An alternate title would be "Rexroth Goes Greek."Rexroth is honest: "As translations, these poems make no pretense of scholarship. Some are quite literal, others are so free as to be ironic comments on the Greek text. . . . Many of the translations came to me as I turned the Greek poem over in my memory, with no text at all."These are (mostly) very short poems/epigrams from the Greek Anthology, with some Roman items scattered among them. It's up to you to figure out which are which, or does it matter? All are bite-sized pieces, easily digested. They can make you think or make you laugh.
J**N
Great translation, poor binding
Kenneth Rextoth’s translations are exceedingly beautiful, light, and spirited. However, the publisher’s binding is of very poor quality. Only two days in and and already fifteen pages in the back have ripped from the binding, and from only very light reading. I expected better quality for the price tag
J**X
The Greek Anthology Revisited.
Go tell the King: The daedalWalls have fallen to the earthPhoibos has no sanctuary,No prophetic laurel, noSpeaking spring. The garrulousWater has dried up at last.THE LAST UTTERANCE OF THE DELPHIC ORACLEThis is one of my favorite poems in this collection.Friend to the Beats, organizer of the Six Gallery poetry reading in 1955, and iconoclastic poet extraordinary, Kenneth Rexroth turned his imagination in the early sixties to a selection of verses from The Greek Anthology. In his characteristically lively style he successfully captured the spirit of the originals by such poets as Sappho, Anyte, Glycon, Antipatros, leonidas, Asclepiades, and Ammianos.Students of the classics as well as poets and translators welcome this collection for the insight and the dexterity of its unconventional editor.