Dave Davies
speaker
5,382 appearances
57 recordings
2 series
first heard Nov 2024
last heard 7 Sep
Dave Davies’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 32 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 5.
Appearances
Christopher Nolan's new film, The Odyssey, is a box office hit.
But classic scholar Emily Wilson, who translated Homer's poem from the original text, says the film script is abysmally written, lacking in emotional depth and character development.
And she adds there are no sex scenes and all the food looks horrible.
Today, Wilson talks about the joy and challenge of bringing the rich ancient text to life in translation.
Also, we hear from actor John Bernthal, who plays Menelaus, king of Sparta in Nolan's The Odyssey, and the Punisher in the new Spider-Man movie.
That's all coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.
I'm Dave Davies.
That's our guest today, Emily Wilson.
In 2017, Wilson published her own translation of The Odyssey, a task that took six years to complete and had quite an impact.
Wilson was the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English, though that's not the first thing she'd want you to know about her work.
Her translation was widely hailed in reviews for its vibrant language and faithfulness to the original Greek text attributed to the poet Homer.
Her translation sold thousands of copies and was added to high school and college curricula across the country.
Wilson was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, and after she followed with the translation of the Iliad, a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Christopher Nolan has cited her translation in discussing his approach to the character of Odysseus in his new film.
In a review, Wilson called Nolan's film abysmally written and lacking in psychological, emotional, political, and ethical depth.
Though she said it's still an event to celebrate because it's getting more people into theaters and interested in the classics.
Emily Wilson is a professor of classical studies and chair of the classics department at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of several books, including a new one coming out in September.
It's a collection of essays introducing readers to the literature of ancient Greece and Rome and the challenges of translation.
and exploring some modern themes, such as parallels between the hip-hop of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and the comedies of Aristophanes in 5th century Athens.
The book is titled Crossing the Wine Dark Sea.
Showing 501–520 of 5,382 · page 26 of 270
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