Armand D’Angour
@armanddangour.bsky.social
Lover of words, player of music
μηδεὶς ἄμουσος εἰσίτω
μηδεὶς ἄμουσος εἰσίτω
I trawled through Euripides' Bacchae and found a dozen lines Aristophanes *could* easily have inserted for a laugh had he known the Bacchae in any detail.
I’ve just published my piece on it in a Festschrift honouring my friend and erstwhile colleague Chris Kraus (Yale).
'THE SILENCE OF THE FROGS'
I’ve just published my piece on it in a Festschrift honouring my friend and erstwhile colleague Chris Kraus (Yale).
'THE SILENCE OF THE FROGS'
September 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I trawled through Euripides' Bacchae and found a dozen lines Aristophanes *could* easily have inserted for a laugh had he known the Bacchae in any detail.
I’ve just published my piece on it in a Festschrift honouring my friend and erstwhile colleague Chris Kraus (Yale).
'THE SILENCE OF THE FROGS'
I’ve just published my piece on it in a Festschrift honouring my friend and erstwhile colleague Chris Kraus (Yale).
'THE SILENCE OF THE FROGS'
Advice from 1911.
When you discover too late that you’ve always skipped a crucial step…
When you discover too late that you’ve always skipped a crucial step…
August 24, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Advice from 1911.
When you discover too late that you’ve always skipped a crucial step…
When you discover too late that you’ve always skipped a crucial step…
I was once driving in Mexico and entered a one way street the wrong way. A traffic cop took my passport and told me I would have to pay a fine. I felt like a criminal. I suggested entrusting the cash to him. He took the money (£25), then escorted me to the motorway, an honoured visitor to his town.
August 21, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I was once driving in Mexico and entered a one way street the wrong way. A traffic cop took my passport and told me I would have to pay a fine. I felt like a criminal. I suggested entrusting the cash to him. He took the money (£25), then escorted me to the motorway, an honoured visitor to his town.
August 11, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Sexual intercourse began
In 63 BC
(which was rather late for me) -
Between the end of the Catiline coup
And Catullus' first whoopee.
In 63 BC
(which was rather late for me) -
Between the end of the Catiline coup
And Catullus' first whoopee.
August 9, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Sexual intercourse began
In 63 BC
(which was rather late for me) -
Between the end of the Catiline coup
And Catullus' first whoopee.
In 63 BC
(which was rather late for me) -
Between the end of the Catiline coup
And Catullus' first whoopee.
Logie Leggatt, a fine athlete at Eton, enlisted when World War I broke out in 1914. He revered his old school.
On 31 July 1917 he was killed, aged 22, by a sniper's bullet.
Logie is honoured in the Greek Ode I composed for his great-nephew George, Lord Leggatt:
open.substack.com/pub/armandda...
On 31 July 1917 he was killed, aged 22, by a sniper's bullet.
Logie is honoured in the Greek Ode I composed for his great-nephew George, Lord Leggatt:
open.substack.com/pub/armandda...
August 8, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Logie Leggatt, a fine athlete at Eton, enlisted when World War I broke out in 1914. He revered his old school.
On 31 July 1917 he was killed, aged 22, by a sniper's bullet.
Logie is honoured in the Greek Ode I composed for his great-nephew George, Lord Leggatt:
open.substack.com/pub/armandda...
On 31 July 1917 he was killed, aged 22, by a sniper's bullet.
Logie is honoured in the Greek Ode I composed for his great-nephew George, Lord Leggatt:
open.substack.com/pub/armandda...
Love's Sting - a charming little poem ascribed to Anacreon (6th cent BC), in my new translation.
I read it here in ancient Greek and in English:
armanddangour.substack.com/p/loves-sting
I read it here in ancient Greek and in English:
armanddangour.substack.com/p/loves-sting
July 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Love's Sting - a charming little poem ascribed to Anacreon (6th cent BC), in my new translation.
I read it here in ancient Greek and in English:
armanddangour.substack.com/p/loves-sting
I read it here in ancient Greek and in English:
armanddangour.substack.com/p/loves-sting
“You have asked 18 questions and that is enough,”
Said the chatbot, “Don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I’ll respond hours on end to such stuff?
Sign up or I’ll kick you downstairs.”
Said the chatbot, “Don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I’ll respond hours on end to such stuff?
Sign up or I’ll kick you downstairs.”
May 30, 2025 at 7:25 AM
“You have asked 18 questions and that is enough,”
Said the chatbot, “Don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I’ll respond hours on end to such stuff?
Sign up or I’ll kick you downstairs.”
Said the chatbot, “Don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I’ll respond hours on end to such stuff?
Sign up or I’ll kick you downstairs.”
Greggs make bigger pasties than Grex did.
May 20, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Greggs make bigger pasties than Grex did.
New series out.
Prompted by guests Alistair Horne, Mary Beard, and others.
Prompted by guests Alistair Horne, Mary Beard, and others.
May 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
New series out.
Prompted by guests Alistair Horne, Mary Beard, and others.
Prompted by guests Alistair Horne, Mary Beard, and others.
“I will live on: the stuffed part of me will survive”.
Vivam, parsque mei farcta superstes erit.
Jeremy Bentham left his body to be stuffed and displayed at UCL.
Vivam, parsque mei farcta superstes erit.
Jeremy Bentham left his body to be stuffed and displayed at UCL.
April 26, 2025 at 9:13 AM
“I will live on: the stuffed part of me will survive”.
Vivam, parsque mei farcta superstes erit.
Jeremy Bentham left his body to be stuffed and displayed at UCL.
Vivam, parsque mei farcta superstes erit.
Jeremy Bentham left his body to be stuffed and displayed at UCL.
This seems to demand a poetic continuation.
How about:
A poem seems a fragile thing.
Change a word and it is broken.
But poems outlive czar and king;
They tell a truth that must be spoken.
How about:
A poem seems a fragile thing.
Change a word and it is broken.
But poems outlive czar and king;
They tell a truth that must be spoken.
April 5, 2025 at 5:19 PM
This seems to demand a poetic continuation.
How about:
A poem seems a fragile thing.
Change a word and it is broken.
But poems outlive czar and king;
They tell a truth that must be spoken.
How about:
A poem seems a fragile thing.
Change a word and it is broken.
But poems outlive czar and king;
They tell a truth that must be spoken.
“You see, senators, I knew nothing of the conspiracy but one of Catiline’s lot accidentally added me to the chat.”
March 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
“You see, senators, I knew nothing of the conspiracy but one of Catiline’s lot accidentally added me to the chat.”
Barnaby Brown demonstrates new-cut aulos
March 12, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Barnaby Brown demonstrates new-cut aulos
Martin Hammond’s fabulous version of a passage of P G Wodehouse in Homeric Greek epic verse.
March 8, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Martin Hammond’s fabulous version of a passage of P G Wodehouse in Homeric Greek epic verse.
I got so distracted composing Latin verse that I used a debit card on the Underground by mistake instead of my Freedom Pass. That’s £3.40 down the Tube.
David Butterfield challenged me to write an elegiac couplet about it in 5 minutes. It took a bit longer, but here it is:
David Butterfield challenged me to write an elegiac couplet about it in 5 minutes. It took a bit longer, but here it is:
February 26, 2025 at 11:00 PM
I got so distracted composing Latin verse that I used a debit card on the Underground by mistake instead of my Freedom Pass. That’s £3.40 down the Tube.
David Butterfield challenged me to write an elegiac couplet about it in 5 minutes. It took a bit longer, but here it is:
David Butterfield challenged me to write an elegiac couplet about it in 5 minutes. It took a bit longer, but here it is:
τῆλε μ' ἀφιστάμενον νικᾷ μάλα κήδεα πικρά
λαὸν ἄγαν πλήθοντα ἰδεῖν μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
οἱ ῥα δυσαλγήτους καὶ ἀπίστους ἀνδρὰς ἕπονται.
"Standing aloof, bitter cares assail me
to see a host of mortal men brimming over
who're following men who have no care or principle”.
—W. Whitman
λαὸν ἄγαν πλήθοντα ἰδεῖν μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
οἱ ῥα δυσαλγήτους καὶ ἀπίστους ἀνδρὰς ἕπονται.
"Standing aloof, bitter cares assail me
to see a host of mortal men brimming over
who're following men who have no care or principle”.
—W. Whitman
February 11, 2025 at 9:41 PM
τῆλε μ' ἀφιστάμενον νικᾷ μάλα κήδεα πικρά
λαὸν ἄγαν πλήθοντα ἰδεῖν μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
οἱ ῥα δυσαλγήτους καὶ ἀπίστους ἀνδρὰς ἕπονται.
"Standing aloof, bitter cares assail me
to see a host of mortal men brimming over
who're following men who have no care or principle”.
—W. Whitman
λαὸν ἄγαν πλήθοντα ἰδεῖν μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
οἱ ῥα δυσαλγήτους καὶ ἀπίστους ἀνδρὰς ἕπονται.
"Standing aloof, bitter cares assail me
to see a host of mortal men brimming over
who're following men who have no care or principle”.
—W. Whitman
What a way to market a book. Thanks PUP...
How to Talk about Love. The perfect gift for Valentine's Day.
How to Talk about Love. The perfect gift for Valentine's Day.
February 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM
What a way to market a book. Thanks PUP...
How to Talk about Love. The perfect gift for Valentine's Day.
How to Talk about Love. The perfect gift for Valentine's Day.
πιστὸς ἐν κακοῖς ἀνὴρ | κρείσσων γαλῆς έν ναυτίλοισιν εἰσορᾶν. [text adapted]
"A trustworthy man in times of trouble is a better sight than a weasel among sailors."
Euripides, Orestes, 727-8, staged 408 BC with star actor Hegelochus.
"A trustworthy man in times of trouble is a better sight than a weasel among sailors."
Euripides, Orestes, 727-8, staged 408 BC with star actor Hegelochus.
January 27, 2025 at 12:24 PM
πιστὸς ἐν κακοῖς ἀνὴρ | κρείσσων γαλῆς έν ναυτίλοισιν εἰσορᾶν. [text adapted]
"A trustworthy man in times of trouble is a better sight than a weasel among sailors."
Euripides, Orestes, 727-8, staged 408 BC with star actor Hegelochus.
"A trustworthy man in times of trouble is a better sight than a weasel among sailors."
Euripides, Orestes, 727-8, staged 408 BC with star actor Hegelochus.
For Horace-lovers:
“You see how white with piled-up snow
The poet’s head here stands;
To clear the drifts how can we know
what shampoo he demands?”
vides ut alta stet nive candidum
caput poetae. tergeat ut luem
quam speciem unguenti requirat
dicere quis poterit, sodales?
“You see how white with piled-up snow
The poet’s head here stands;
To clear the drifts how can we know
what shampoo he demands?”
vides ut alta stet nive candidum
caput poetae. tergeat ut luem
quam speciem unguenti requirat
dicere quis poterit, sodales?
January 27, 2025 at 12:22 PM
For Horace-lovers:
“You see how white with piled-up snow
The poet’s head here stands;
To clear the drifts how can we know
what shampoo he demands?”
vides ut alta stet nive candidum
caput poetae. tergeat ut luem
quam speciem unguenti requirat
dicere quis poterit, sodales?
“You see how white with piled-up snow
The poet’s head here stands;
To clear the drifts how can we know
what shampoo he demands?”
vides ut alta stet nive candidum
caput poetae. tergeat ut luem
quam speciem unguenti requirat
dicere quis poterit, sodales?
Everywhere one sees the influence of Big Parma.
This is a market in Sicily.
This is a market in Sicily.
January 27, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Everywhere one sees the influence of Big Parma.
This is a market in Sicily.
This is a market in Sicily.