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Emily Wilson to undertake complete retranslation of The Odyssey
Classical scholar Emily Wilson has announced she is undertaking a complete retranslation of Homer’s The Odyssey. This project is not a revision of her successful 2017 English translation, but an entirely new rendering of the ancient Greek text. Wilson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, stated she is currently about halfway through the work.
The decision to restart the project stems from evolving scholarly methods and a desire for greater linguistic precision. Wilson noted that her previous version frequently used the word 'slave' to describe various social roles that the ancient Greek language distinguishes more specifically. The new edition is expected to be more extensive and better reflect the complex social structures presented in the poem.
Industry experts, including Kate Deimling of the American Translators Association, noted that while minor edits in subsequent editions are common, a full retranslation of a major, commercially successful epic within a decade is highly unusual in the publishing industry.
Entities
American Translators Association · Emily Wilson · Homer · Liveright Publishing · University of Pennsylvania
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] The new work is a complete retranslation of Homer’s The Odyssey rather than a revision of the 2017 version. gacetamexicana.com · apnews.com · time.news
- [● 3 SOURCES] Starting over entirely on a successful, full-length classical text is virtually unheard of in modern publishing. gacetamexicana.com · apnews.com · time.news
- [● 3 SOURCES] Wilson is approximately halfway through the new translation project. gacetamexicana.com · apnews.com · time.news
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The new edition of The Odyssey will be more extensive than the previous version. gacetamexicana.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The 2017 translation overused the single English word 'slave' to describe various distinct categories of enslaved people in ancient Greek. gacetamexicana.com · apnews.com · time.news