Gods and Mortals: Modern Poems on Classical Myths

By Nina Kossman, Bertolt Brecht, Ted Hughes, et al.

Book Overview

For centuries, poets have looked into the mirror of classical myth to show us the many ways our emotional lives are still reflected in the ancient stories of heroism, hubris, transformation, and loss that myths so eloquently tell. Now, in Gods and Mortals: Modern Poems on Classical Myths, we have the first anthology to gather the great 20th century myth-inspired poems from around the world.
"Perhaps it is because the myths echo the structure of our unconscious that every new generation of poets finds them a source of inspiration and self-recognition," says Nina Kossman in her introduction to this marvelous collection. Indeed, from Valery, Yeats, Lawrence, Rilke, Akhmatova, and Auden writing in the first half of the century to such contemporary poets as Lucille Clifton, Derek Walcott, Rita Dove, Wislawa Szymborska, and Mark Strand, the material of Greek myth has elicited a poetry of remarkably high achievement. And by organizing the poems first into broad categories such as "Heroes," "Lovers," "Trespassers," and secondly around particular mythological figures such as Persephone, Orpheus, or Narcissus, readers are treated to a fascinating spectrum of poems on the same subject. For example, the section on Odysseus includes poems by Cavafy, W. S. Merwin, Gregory Corso, Gabriel Zaid, Louise Gluck, Wallace Stevens, and many others. Thus we are allowed to see the familiar Greek hero refracted through the eyes, and sharply varying stylistic approaches, of a wide range of poets from around the world.
Here, then, is a collection of extraordinary poems that testifies to--and amply rewards--our ongoing fascination with classical myth.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195133412
• ISBN13: 9780195133417
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

just a wonderful anthology

This is a very comprehensive collection, worthwhile for students and teachers of classics, comparative literature, and modern poetry and for anyone interested in mythology and literature. One of the attractions of this book is the mixture of poems by modern English-language poets and poems translated from foreign languages. The editor has obviously searched far and wide for poems on Greek myth--poems from Romanian, Lithuanian, Chinese, Bengali, Hebrew, Danish, Hungarian, Polish, and Estonian are included in addition to the expected languages. The poems are well chosen and the translations are masterfully done. Another thing that makes this collection so comprehensive is the sheernumber of mythological characters covered. A great collection in every respect!