A A Garden of Roman Verse

By J. Paul Getty Trust Publication and J. Getty

Book Overview

The glorious poetry of Rome has endured for more than two thousand years. For most of that time, it was read only in the original Latin, but over the centuries celebrated writers, from John Dryden to Aubrey Beardsley to Ezra Pound, have been inspired to create translations that reflect their own ages, while retaining the vibrancy of the originals A Garden of Roman Verse presents work by four of Rome's finest poets: Catullus, Horace, Ovid, and Virgil. Each poem appears in the original Latin and in English translation, and is illustrated with a detail from Roman paintings or mosaics. The subtle colors and haunting quality of the illustrations evoke the spirit of the age in which this enchanting poetry was written. The combination of the poetry and illustrations, accompanied by notes on each poet and on Pompeii and Herculaneum--where some of the finest examples of Roman paintings were preserved--make this volume a perfect introduction to the towering civilization of Rome.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892365277
• ISBN13: 9780892365272
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.9" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Roman Poetry for the Rest of Us

I picked up this little volume of verse in the gift shop of the Getty Center and it is the perfect souvinier from a perfect day at this marvelous art museum. It is clearly a labor of love--high quality paper, richly colored reproductions of Roman frescos and mosaics, and a beautifully composed selection of the poetry of Catullus, Virgil, Horace and Ovid, both in Latin and translated by the likes of Sir Walter Raleigh, John Dryden, and Lord Byron, to name a few. A book that I will treasure and read and reread.