Good question! Peter Green is a great, albeit slightly by-the-book starting point. His translations are very clear and readable, and he shares a lot of historical context in his notes. His book of complete Catullus is dual-language, so you can compare the English and the Latin side by side.
For something more creative and fluid, I can't recommend Louis Zukofsky highly enough. He wrote these wonderful homophonic translations of Catullus. Somehow, he managed to imitate the sound of the original Latin as well as conveying the poem's meanings in English. It's a mind-blowing literary feat, and incredibly fun to read.
If anyone else has recommended Catullus translations, feel free to share. He's one of my all-time favorite poets, so I'm always on the lookout for more!
ah, this made me want to read catullus. do you have a favorite translator (or translators!) to recommend?
Good question! Peter Green is a great, albeit slightly by-the-book starting point. His translations are very clear and readable, and he shares a lot of historical context in his notes. His book of complete Catullus is dual-language, so you can compare the English and the Latin side by side.
For something more creative and fluid, I can't recommend Louis Zukofsky highly enough. He wrote these wonderful homophonic translations of Catullus. Somehow, he managed to imitate the sound of the original Latin as well as conveying the poem's meanings in English. It's a mind-blowing literary feat, and incredibly fun to read.
If anyone else has recommended Catullus translations, feel free to share. He's one of my all-time favorite poets, so I'm always on the lookout for more!