This vivid new translation of Dante’s immortal classic, Inferno,
opens a new vista and offers a fresh experience of this milestone in
human literary genius. Throughout his life, Dante struggled with the
question of how to convey the solemn gravity of the Latin classics into
the “vulgar” language of his native Italy. At the same time, he was
convinced that the vernacular of his time and place had color and
vibrancy that the “heady,” more cerebral, classic literature lacked.
Writing the Inferno was Dante’s breakthrough moment in wedding
these two very different “personalities” of poetic expression. Jason
Baxter’s new, pulsing, rhythmic translation is alive with spiritual
energy from both these streams. Here we have an Inferno that we feel in our nerves and in our blood, as well as in the heart and head.
Paperback
Pages: 258