Homer in the Twentieth Century: Between World Literature and the Western Canon (Classical Presences)

A Collection Of Essays Exploring The Crucial Place Of Homer In The Cultural Landscape Of The Twentieth Century. It Contributes To Current Debates About The Nature Of The Western Literary Canon, The Evolving Notion Of World Literature, The Relationship Between Orality And The Written Word, And The Dialogue Between Texts Across Time And Space. This Collection Of Essays Explores The Crucial Place Of Homer In The Shifting Cultural Landscape Of The Twentieth Century. It Argues That Homer Was Viewed Both As The Founding Father Of The Western Literary Canon And As Sharing Important Features With Poems, Performances, And Traditions Which Were Often Deemed Neither Literary Nor Western: The Epics Of Yugoslavia And Sub-saharan Africa, The Keening Performances Of Irish Women, The Spontaneous Inventiveness Of The Blues. The Book Contributes To Current Debates About The Nature Of The Western Literary Canon, The Evolving Notion Of World Literature, The Relationship Between Orality And The Written Word, And The Dialogue Between Texts Across Time And Space. Homer In The Twentieth Century Contends That The Homeric Poems Play An Important Role In Shaping Those Debates And, Conversely, That The Experiences Of The Twentieth Century Open New Avenues For The Interpretation Of Homer's Much-travelled Texts. The texts, ideas, images, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome have always been crucial to attempts to appropriate the past in order to authenticate the present. They underlie the mapping of change and the assertion and challenging of values and identities, old and new. Classical Presences brings the latest scholarship to bear on the contexts, theory, and practice of such use, and abuse, of the classical past. The twentieth century saw many contrasting approaches to Homer. On the one hand, he was often seen as the father of the western literary canon, the first author in a genealogy that included canonical poets such as Apollonius, Virgil, Dante, and Milton. On the other, Homeric poetry was thought to have strong affinities with poems, performances, and traditions that were sometimes deemed neither literary nor western: the epics of Yugoslavia and sub-Saharan Africa, the keening performances of Irish women, the spontaneous inventiveness of the Blues. This collection of essays by renowned specialists attempts to trace the tensions and connections between different visions of Homer in the twentieth century. Part I investigates the place of Homer in the shifting cultural landscapes of the twentieth century; Part II explores the connections between scholarly and creative approaches to the Homeric poems; Part III looks at some of the means through which writers, poets, scholars, and film-makers mapped their distance from Homer; Part IV discusses the political and interpretative challenges posed by reading (and not reading) Homer in the twentieth century. The book contributes to current debates about the nature of the western literary canon, the evolving concept of world literature, the relationship between orality and the written word, and the dialogue between texts across time and space. It argues that the Homeric poems played an important role in shaping those debates and, conversely, that the experiences of the twentieth century open new avenues for the interpretation of Homer's much-travelled texts

This collection of essays explores the crucial place of Homer in the shifting cultural landscape of the twentieth century. It argues that Homer was viewed both as the founding father of the Western literary canon and as sharing important features with poems, performances, and traditions which were often deemed neither literary nor Western: the epics of Yugoslavia and sub-Saharan Africa, the keening performances of Irish women, the spontaneous inventiveness of the Blues. The book contributes to current debates about the nature of the Western literary canon, the evolving notion of world literature, the relationship between orality and the written word, and the dialogue between texts across time and space. Homer in the Twentieth Century contends that the Homeric poems play an important role in shaping those debates and, conversely, that the experiences of the twentieth century open new avenues for the interpretation of Homer's much-travelled texts.