About this episode

Daniel Mendelsohn discusses his new translation of The Odyssey and the enduring relevance of the text.

Why Translate Homer Again? Daniel Mendelsohn on his new Odyssey This conversation explore’s Daniel Mendelsohn’s new translation of The Odyssey. Mendelsohn reflects on why this endlessly retranslated text still invites fresh interpretation, describing Odysseus as a “proto-author” whose storytelling shapes reality itself. The discussion delves into the craft of translation; balancing precision with poetic vitality, preserving the strangeness of Homeric Greek while remaining readable, and making deliberate choices about line length, diction, and even spelling.  Mendelsohn also highlights the influence of teaching and lifelong engagement with the text, emphasising close reading and the role of students in deepening understanding. Beyond technique, the conversation explores why The Odyssey endures. its themes of homecoming, identity, storytelling, and time continue to resonate across generations, making it both an ancient epic and a strikingly modern work. Buy The Odyssey: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/the-odyssey-51 Memoirist, critic, translator, and frequent contributor of essays to  The New Yorker  and  The New York Review of Books , where he is…

People in this episode

Guest: Daniel Mendelsohn

Topics covered

• translation
• Homer
• The Odyssey
• storytelling
• identity
• homecoming

Keywords

• Homer
• translation
• Odyssey
• Daniel Mendelsohn
• storytelling
• identity
• homecoming

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books

Books & works: The Odyssey

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