Virgil, Wordsworth and the anxieties of translation: literalism, lake poetry and lyric revision
Stephen Hinds (University of Washington, Seattle)
In his current book project, Poetry across Languages: Studies in Transliteral and Transcultural Latin, Stephen Hinds moves between periods to explore the cross-linguistic and intercultural relations of poetic writing in Latin within antiquity, between antiquity and modernity, and even within modernity. Throughout, he is concerned to treat the ‘classical tradition’ as process rather than as product, involving many micro-negotiations of authors and readers across language and culture.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850), who in his fifties began and then abandoned a translation of the Aeneid, had a long and sometimes anxious history of engagement with the classical tradition. The ebb and flow of that engagement can be dramatized by sampling (via the monumental Cornell edition of Wordsworth) the poet’s own first drafts, revisions and deletions, and the editorial and commentatorial interventions of friends and family. After a look at some moments in Wordsworth’s Aeneid (vigorously criticized by his great contemporary Samuel Taylor Coleridge), this paper focusses on the post-Virgilian Laodamia and, more briefly, on the Greek-inspired Dion (grounded in one of Plutarch’s Lives). Trace-elements of Wordsworth’s distinctive poetic of lake and landscape will come into play at different points throughout.
Gather ‘round for the latest episode of Office Hours! This week, we’re joined by English professor Manuel Gonzales as we discuss forthcoming novels, the wonders of Lexington public events, and some handy tips concerning office décor.
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On the latest episode of Office Hours, creative writers Andrew Ewell and Hannah Pittard join us to discuss their work, marriage, and teaching at the University of Kentucky. Join us as we grab our notebooks and coffee cups to have a nice discussion about creativity.
Graduate school can appear to be a mystifying process with a seemingly endless row of hoops to jump through, such as applying, studying, researching, and writing a dissertation of your own. The English Department is helping to give us a peek behind the curtain of graduate school as we speak to Andrea Holliger and Seth Lee, two English graduate students. In this interview, Holliger and Lee discuss their experiences, tips, and tricks regarding graduate school, research, and writing dissertations.
The Department of English is excited to welcome Assistant Professor Hannah Pittard to its faculty!
Pittard's work focuses on creative writing, ranging from writing novels to short stories and essays. In this podcast, Pittard discusses themes found within her work, her goals as a University of Kentucky faculty member, and the aspects of the University that drew her here.
Episode five of Office Hours is here! Join us as we talk to Professor Matt Wilson about his work with "critical GIS," what new intitiatives he has in store for the Geography department, and his time as a guest lecturer at a little-known university called Harvard.
