EMILY WILSON
@emilyrcwilson.bsky.social
One of many interesting common threads: All three of us talked about Matthew Arnold and the challenges of recreating the nobility/ rapidity/ plainness/ musicality of Homeric poetry in English. Caroline and I both talked about our inner Achilles.
November 15, 2025 at 3:27 PM
One of many interesting common threads: All three of us talked about Matthew Arnold and the challenges of recreating the nobility/ rapidity/ plainness/ musicality of Homeric poetry in English. Caroline and I both talked about our inner Achilles.
Thank you so much. This is beautiful. Homer has been making people cry for 3000 years and it is inspiring to hear of new instances.
October 30, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Thank you so much. This is beautiful. Homer has been making people cry for 3000 years and it is inspiring to hear of new instances.
FWIW, William Logan had a very funny discussion of my Iliad translation, saying the meter is way too regular: "Every copy of her Iliad should have been boxed with a metronome." Haha! The original is metrically regular (with accepted variants) and I aim for an equivalent sonic experience.
September 30, 2025 at 12:53 PM
FWIW, William Logan had a very funny discussion of my Iliad translation, saying the meter is way too regular: "Every copy of her Iliad should have been boxed with a metronome." Haha! The original is metrically regular (with accepted variants) and I aim for an equivalent sonic experience.
That’s Emily H Wilson! Idk if she is on bsky
September 11, 2025 at 10:56 AM
That’s Emily H Wilson! Idk if she is on bsky
FWIW, Mendelsohn doesn't use hexameter or any regular meter. www.nybooks.com/articles/202... The only English Homer I know that uses a stressed hexameter is Rodney Merrill - an impressive technical feat, tho IMO it doesn't exactly work as English.
Odysseus Saved from the Sea | Homer, translated by Daniel Mendelsohn
a poem
www.nybooks.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM
FWIW, Mendelsohn doesn't use hexameter or any regular meter. www.nybooks.com/articles/202... The only English Homer I know that uses a stressed hexameter is Rodney Merrill - an impressive technical feat, tho IMO it doesn't exactly work as English.
Yes, very fair points! pity is not the same as a notion that the pain shouldn’t ever happen. I honestly was unable to watch the video, due to it featuring me, so thank you for catching the Iliad error- I’ll get it fixed.
September 4, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Yes, very fair points! pity is not the same as a notion that the pain shouldn’t ever happen. I honestly was unable to watch the video, due to it featuring me, so thank you for catching the Iliad error- I’ll get it fixed.
I'm very glad to hear this. Thank you. The original poem is a wonderfully immersive, intense experience, so I am happy if the translation works that way for you.
August 26, 2025 at 10:26 PM
I'm very glad to hear this. Thank you. The original poem is a wonderfully immersive, intense experience, so I am happy if the translation works that way for you.
For those who thought it was a book about translating: I am also doing a collection of essays about ancient literature and translation.
August 6, 2025 at 10:12 AM
For those who thought it was a book about translating: I am also doing a collection of essays about ancient literature and translation.
Great topic. No. The use of traditional metrical verse form has always been central to my approach to re-translating Homer, and that hasn't changed. There are already numerous English free verse or "a loose 5/6/7 beat line" translations out there, so I don't see the need to do that.
August 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Great topic. No. The use of traditional metrical verse form has always been central to my approach to re-translating Homer, and that hasn't changed. There are already numerous English free verse or "a loose 5/6/7 beat line" translations out there, so I don't see the need to do that.
To clarify: I am doing a fully revised re-retranslation, to align my Odyssey translation more closely with my Iliad. Many phrases will be the same, including, of course, "complicated". Many will be a little different. If interested, check back in a couple of years!
August 5, 2025 at 1:27 PM
To clarify: I am doing a fully revised re-retranslation, to align my Odyssey translation more closely with my Iliad. Many phrases will be the same, including, of course, "complicated". Many will be a little different. If interested, check back in a couple of years!
Great to see you, friend!
June 2, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Great to see you, friend!