Ovid
A translator’s responsibilities are as formidable as a transplant surgeon’s
When asked what it is we do, translators often resort to metaphors. We liken the act of translation to performing…
Myth-making from ancient to modern – but Metamorphica doesn’t quite live up to Ovid
‘My spirit moves me to speak of forms changed into new bodies,’ proclaimed Ovid at the beginning of the Metamorphoses:…
Jhumpa Lahiri's new tongue
Imagine you’re an unknown young writer whose first collection of stories wins the Pulitzer prize. Your first novel is filmed,…
Coming of age in New York
I read this, Meg Rosoff’s first novel for adults (though her previous fiction, aimed at teenagers, is widely enjoyed by…
Trigger warning: this is an article about the word ‘trigger’
A notion is going about that, just as readers of film reviews receive spoiler alerts, so readers of anything should…
How the Romans went about their business
When Ovid was seeking ‘cures for love’, the most efficient remedy, he wrote, was for a young man to watch…
Why we should revel in the empty virtuosity of Handel's pasticcios
Before the jukebox musical, back when Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys and Viva Forever! were still dollar-shaped glints in an as-yet-unborn…
Roman baths didn't make you clean — and other gems from Peter Jones's Veni, Vedi, Vici
Spectator readers need no introduction to Peter Jones. His Ancient and Modern column has instructed and delighted us for many…
