Emily Wilson to retranslate the Odyssey from scratch
Wilson, whose 2017 English translation of Homer’s epic poem inspired Christopher Nolan’s box office hit, is revisiting it after criticising the film adaptation
TL;DR
- Emily Wilson is retranslating Homer's Odyssey from scratch, less than a decade after her first English translation.
- Her 2017 translation was praised for making the epic poem modern and accessible and became a bestseller.
- The new translation will use an approach closer to her Iliad translation, with more lines and varied pacing.
- Wilson recently criticized Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of the Odyssey for its writing and lack of sex scenes.
- Nolan's film was a box office success and significantly boosted sales of Wilson's translation.
- Wilson plans to include more scholarly commentary and endnotes in her new translation.
- Other translators have also reworked their previous translations, indicating that translation is an ongoing exploratory process.