Emily Wilson on the books that shaped her Odyssey translation and her criticism of Nolan’s film

Classics scholar Emily Wilson, the first woman to render Homer’s Odyssey into English verse in 2017, explained the five books that guided her new translation in an interview ahead of her forthcoming volume Crossing the Wine‑Dark Sea. The list includes Homer’s Odyssey: Oxford Readings in Classical Studies, Matthew Arnold’s Essays in Criticism, Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, Christopher Logue’s War Music, and Lawrence Venuti’s The Translator’s Invisibility, each of which she says informed her approach to rhythm, clarity and the poem’s “noble” character.

Wilson also reiterated her harsh assessment of Christopher Nolan’s recent epic film, describing it as “emotionally empty” and “structurally strained.” In a piece for The Atlantic she argued the movie fails to convey the moral stakes of the Trojan War and misrepresents the ancient “law of hospitality.” Her critique sparked a rebuttal from author Joyce Carol Oates, who accused Wilson of using harsh language toward her colleagues. Wilson, a professor of classics at the University of Pennsylvania, continues to influence both scholarly and popular discussions of Homer’s work.