I will be right there with you on Homer's wine-dark sea, following the adventures of swift-footed Achilles and gray-eyed Athena!
And speaking further epithetically, this is my third go-round with Dan Stevens' silver-tongued narration of Fitzgerald's (sun-bright? great-hearted?) translation, and all I can say is, I'm very much looking forward to my afternoon Walkies in such audibly gorgeous company!
P.S. There's also Alfred Molina's gripping narration of Stephen Mitchell's more modern and wonderfully robust translation. As I have the time, I hope to listen to both! (For a nice little comparison of the two translations, see https://www.iliadtranslations.com/compare/mitchell-vs-fitzgerald
WOW that is marvelous...I feel like we'd have been friends in that school, reading Chuzzlewit away from the crowd! Thanks so much for sharing this, Marissa 💙 and I love it so much that you're now studying Greek & Latin!!! 🥹 how marvelous
I thoroughly enjoyed your article. My mom was employed in the Los Angeles garment district all her working years; began as a seamstress as an ESL immigrant and worked her way to pattern maker for the chief designer at her last company. While as a physician (now retired) I'm a product of formal education, I take pride in having kept a blue-collar sensibility and of being an autodidact in several arts & crafts. Along with being a life long reader seeing young persons with your way of living most encouraging.
Salvador, wow, thank you so much! That is so lovely. I loved hearing about your mom...she sounds like an amazing woman! I wish I'd gotten that far in my sewing journey! And I applaud your journey and amazing path in education and work, while being also an autodidact with "blue-collar sensibility". I deeply appreciate the encouragement and sharing. Cheers to lifelong reading, creating, & learning 🙏
It took her 25 years of experience, thus keep at it- as they say so short the life, so long the craft to learn. BTW, the only Dickens I have recently read is Oliver Twist but I have more on my TBR!
A beautifully written article, on a subject I completely identify with, I can’t wait to follow you on this journey!
My bookshelves contain mostly ‘Junior’ and ‘Senior’ year books I am planning on reading /rereading over the next few years , but I must say the ‘Freshman’ and ‘ Sophomore ‘ book lists , contain a few that I may already have, and haven’t quite had the courage to start .
Wow, Melissa, thank you so very much!!! We were so humbled by your contribution 🥹💙💙 and so thrilled that you're following along for the journey! I agree with you about all the books I have that I haven't yet read, especially among these titles. I'm really excited for this translation of The Iliad...just based on the beginning, and Dan Stevens' reading, I'm swooning a bit 😍 and it was my favorite years ago between The Iliad & The Odyssey (in another translation). Anyway... let's do this! Please keep us posted on what you're reading and your thoughts! 💙
I'd say my journey has been about 20-30% required reading and 80-70% autodidact. Tough to say with certainty, since I started reading at 3 and I'm 54 now. I had a decent K-12 education, going to a rural elementary school with a rudimentary gifted and talented program, a private middle school where you tended to be either rich or smart with little overlap, and a college-prep Catholic high school. I usually read what they required, and far more on my own (sometimes reading the books I liked and chose while I was supposed to be reading and discussing assigned books in class.
I didn't go to college right away, but I was always reading. When I did go to college and to grad school, again I'd read what was assigned in my classes, but much more of what I thought I should check out on my own. There were a few reading groups in grad school, where we'd focus on texts not in the curriculum, and that was a nice addition.
Grad school ended for me 23 years ago. I'd already started teaching while a grad student, and a good bit of my reading (and much more rereading) has been to prepare for my classes, getting ready to introduce students to texts that would be interesting or worthwhile for them.
I'm always surprised when students, or even other teachers, say things like: I wouldn't have thought to read X, since that wasn't in the curriculum where I'm going / I went to school. It seems there's a lot of people, including educators, who assume that if someone hasn't assigned a text, it's probably not worth reading. You wonder why they don't just go off and read what they'd like to on their own.
I just learned about the Brittanica Great Books and have been considering to start reading through them. Maybe I will read this section, instead with you !
I went to a highly regarded private university, but I attribute more of my learning to self-directed reading than formal education. I have always loved books and have sought refuge from my shyness, loneliness, and all of life’s challenges in them. I will happily join you in conquering this excellent list of works. And funnily enough, I am currently in a zoom group that is slow reading Lattimore’s translation of The Iliad.
Fantastic!! What perfect timing! Warm welcome...so glad you're here! I can so relate to this: "I have always loved books and sought refuge from my shyness, loneliness, and all life's challenges in them."
I'd love to hear what you think of the Lattimore translation!
It is pretty good. I like it better than the Robert Fagles translation which is the one I read in college, though I can’t give a reasonable explanation why. And I prefer the tone of it to the one recently done by Emily Wilson. I haven’t read the Fitzgerald translation, but that’s the one my daughter’s college course used and she said it was fine. I am interested to see what your opinion of it is.
Your autodidact history strikes a chord! I was(am?) painfully shy, too, and moved from Minnesota to Washington in 10th grade. Rather than bothering to make friends for the last few years of school, I recall sitting in the locker bay during lunch hours reading things like Moby Dick, Martin Chuzzlewit, and Paradise Lost. I always envied my homeschooler friends and wished I had had a classical education, but it was not to be. :) Now in my late thirties, after decades of haphazardly reading classics as the mood took me, I am starting through a great books list, as well, and have been finally studying the Greek and Latin I had always pined for. Looking forward to following along!
Best of luck on this project! What a great endeavor. I am working on a similar project in my personal reading life. Currently leading a year long slow read of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey here on Substack. I look forward to following along on your journey as well.
I will be right there with you on Homer's wine-dark sea, following the adventures of swift-footed Achilles and gray-eyed Athena!
And speaking further epithetically, this is my third go-round with Dan Stevens' silver-tongued narration of Fitzgerald's (sun-bright? great-hearted?) translation, and all I can say is, I'm very much looking forward to my afternoon Walkies in such audibly gorgeous company!
P.S. There's also Alfred Molina's gripping narration of Stephen Mitchell's more modern and wonderfully robust translation. As I have the time, I hope to listen to both! (For a nice little comparison of the two translations, see https://www.iliadtranslations.com/compare/mitchell-vs-fitzgerald
What a perfect walking companion!! 😍 ("Sun-bright"...perfect!!) And thank you so much for the link to compare the translations!!
WOW that is marvelous...I feel like we'd have been friends in that school, reading Chuzzlewit away from the crowd! Thanks so much for sharing this, Marissa 💙 and I love it so much that you're now studying Greek & Latin!!! 🥹 how marvelous
My alma mater! One of my best decisions I’d say.
I’m with you ! As teen, I loved the idea of St. Johns, but I was pretty sure that I would not be able to support myself with a St. Johns degree.
I thoroughly enjoyed your article. My mom was employed in the Los Angeles garment district all her working years; began as a seamstress as an ESL immigrant and worked her way to pattern maker for the chief designer at her last company. While as a physician (now retired) I'm a product of formal education, I take pride in having kept a blue-collar sensibility and of being an autodidact in several arts & crafts. Along with being a life long reader seeing young persons with your way of living most encouraging.
Salvador, wow, thank you so much! That is so lovely. I loved hearing about your mom...she sounds like an amazing woman! I wish I'd gotten that far in my sewing journey! And I applaud your journey and amazing path in education and work, while being also an autodidact with "blue-collar sensibility". I deeply appreciate the encouragement and sharing. Cheers to lifelong reading, creating, & learning 🙏
It took her 25 years of experience, thus keep at it- as they say so short the life, so long the craft to learn. BTW, the only Dickens I have recently read is Oliver Twist but I have more on my TBR!
I am so excited to find you here, and to read The Iliad for the very first time.
A beautifully written article, on a subject I completely identify with, I can’t wait to follow you on this journey!
My bookshelves contain mostly ‘Junior’ and ‘Senior’ year books I am planning on reading /rereading over the next few years , but I must say the ‘Freshman’ and ‘ Sophomore ‘ book lists , contain a few that I may already have, and haven’t quite had the courage to start .
This curriculum is truly inspiring!
Wow, Melissa, thank you so very much!!! We were so humbled by your contribution 🥹💙💙 and so thrilled that you're following along for the journey! I agree with you about all the books I have that I haven't yet read, especially among these titles. I'm really excited for this translation of The Iliad...just based on the beginning, and Dan Stevens' reading, I'm swooning a bit 😍 and it was my favorite years ago between The Iliad & The Odyssey (in another translation). Anyway... let's do this! Please keep us posted on what you're reading and your thoughts! 💙
Looks like a tough reading list - I will be interested to follow your reflections.
I'd say my journey has been about 20-30% required reading and 80-70% autodidact. Tough to say with certainty, since I started reading at 3 and I'm 54 now. I had a decent K-12 education, going to a rural elementary school with a rudimentary gifted and talented program, a private middle school where you tended to be either rich or smart with little overlap, and a college-prep Catholic high school. I usually read what they required, and far more on my own (sometimes reading the books I liked and chose while I was supposed to be reading and discussing assigned books in class.
I didn't go to college right away, but I was always reading. When I did go to college and to grad school, again I'd read what was assigned in my classes, but much more of what I thought I should check out on my own. There were a few reading groups in grad school, where we'd focus on texts not in the curriculum, and that was a nice addition.
Grad school ended for me 23 years ago. I'd already started teaching while a grad student, and a good bit of my reading (and much more rereading) has been to prepare for my classes, getting ready to introduce students to texts that would be interesting or worthwhile for them.
I'm always surprised when students, or even other teachers, say things like: I wouldn't have thought to read X, since that wasn't in the curriculum where I'm going / I went to school. It seems there's a lot of people, including educators, who assume that if someone hasn't assigned a text, it's probably not worth reading. You wonder why they don't just go off and read what they'd like to on their own.
I just learned about the Brittanica Great Books and have been considering to start reading through them. Maybe I will read this section, instead with you !
How wonderful, Bobby!!! Warm welcome & I hope you enjoy it!
I went to a highly regarded private university, but I attribute more of my learning to self-directed reading than formal education. I have always loved books and have sought refuge from my shyness, loneliness, and all of life’s challenges in them. I will happily join you in conquering this excellent list of works. And funnily enough, I am currently in a zoom group that is slow reading Lattimore’s translation of The Iliad.
Fantastic!! What perfect timing! Warm welcome...so glad you're here! I can so relate to this: "I have always loved books and sought refuge from my shyness, loneliness, and all life's challenges in them."
I'd love to hear what you think of the Lattimore translation!
It is pretty good. I like it better than the Robert Fagles translation which is the one I read in college, though I can’t give a reasonable explanation why. And I prefer the tone of it to the one recently done by Emily Wilson. I haven’t read the Fitzgerald translation, but that’s the one my daughter’s college course used and she said it was fine. I am interested to see what your opinion of it is.
How Lovely, I've just started The Introduction of the Odyssey--I'll hope over to the Iliad and join you!
Hooray, welcome aboard, Francina! And we'll be on The Odyssey next, so the timing is good there, too!!! 💙
Your autodidact history strikes a chord! I was(am?) painfully shy, too, and moved from Minnesota to Washington in 10th grade. Rather than bothering to make friends for the last few years of school, I recall sitting in the locker bay during lunch hours reading things like Moby Dick, Martin Chuzzlewit, and Paradise Lost. I always envied my homeschooler friends and wished I had had a classical education, but it was not to be. :) Now in my late thirties, after decades of haphazardly reading classics as the mood took me, I am starting through a great books list, as well, and have been finally studying the Greek and Latin I had always pined for. Looking forward to following along!
deeply refreshing
Aw, many thanks, Ben!!
'How to Read Now' by Elaine Castillo
She has a different take.
Thanks, Mark! I'll look it up
Best of luck on this project! What a great endeavor. I am working on a similar project in my personal reading life. Currently leading a year long slow read of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey here on Substack. I look forward to following along on your journey as well.
https://matthewmlong.substack.com/p/the-iliad-by-homer
Wow, that is awesome, Matthew!! Thank you so much for sharing! I look forward to checking this out! I love that you are doing a slow read/deep dive