Metamorphoses - by Ovid (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The first translation of Ovid's epic poem by two women--Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri and Classicist Yelena Baraz--brings innovative energy and striking vision to one of the greatest literary works of all time

Daphne and Apollo. Echo and Narcissus. Daedalus and Icarus. These are among the foundational Greco-Roman myths, driven by themes of transformation, that come to life most famously in Ovid's Metamorphoses. A cultural touchstone since its conception, Metamorphoses speaks to us today more than ever for its portrayal of power dynamics, shifting identity, and a world constantly under threat.

Now, this bold, free-verse translation releases the riverine flow and galloping pace of Ovid's poetry. Contemporary language and an undulating graphic composition propel readers from one unforgettable story to the next. In pairing a creative writer with a scholar, this translation is at once free-spirited and closely bound to Ovid's kaleidoscopic Latin text. Baraz and Lahiri draw out Ovid's attention to moments of psychological nuance, to the passage of time, to border crossings and to fluid states of being. And by centering the experience of Ovid's women, they reframe complex questions of violence, gender, and body autonomy for a new generation of readers.

Inviting to both a first-time audience and long-time lovers of Ovid, this dynamic, formally inventive translation reminds us that Ovid's Metamorphoses is a work of perpetual relevance and breathtaking sweep.

About the Author

Jhumpa Lahiri, a bilingual writer and translator, is the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Barnard College, Columbia University. She received the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for Interpreter of Maladies and is also the author of The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, and The Lowland. Since 2015, Lahiri has been writing fiction, essays, and poetry in Italian: In Altre Parole (In Other Words), Il Vestito dei libri (The Clothing of Books), Dove mi trovo (self-translated as Whereabouts), Il quaderno di Nerina, and Racconti romani. She received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2014, and in 2019 was named Commendatore of the Italian Republic by President Sergio Mattarella.

Yelena Baraz is Kennedy Foundation Professor of Latin Language and Literature and Chair of Classics at Princeton University. She is the author of A Written Republic: The Cultural Politics of Cicero's Philosophy, Reading Roman Pride, Calpurnius Siculus and the Transformation of Pastoral, Cicero: A Very Short Introduction, and How to Write a Letter: An Ancient Guide to a Lost Art.

Ovid, or Publius Ovidius Naso, was born in a well-off provincial family in 43 B.C.E. and came to Rome to make a career in government and law, soon abandoned so he could devote himself to poetry. He made his name with love poetry and learned love-letters from famous heroines, then displeased the emperor Augustus by publishing an irreverent lover's handbook. In 8 C.E., the emperor exiled him to Tomis on the Black Sea, where he composed verse-letters filled with longing for the city he loved, and a long poem on the Roman calendar. He died in exile in 17 C.E. The Metamorphoses, his epic masterpiece on change, weaves together tales from Greek mythology and Roman legend with riffs on Homer, Vergil, Greek tragedy, and more. A one-of-a-kind exploration of the human condition that has been read continuously since its composition, it has given rise to countless responses and interpretations in every artistic medium.