Ovid's Metamorphoses: A New Translation - Paperback

by C. Luke Soucy (Author), Ovid (Author)

This fresh translation revives the politics and power at play in classical mythology's foremost source

Centuries of conservative translators have robbed the Metamorphoses of its subversive force. In this boldly lyrical translation, C. Luke Soucy revives the magnum opus of Rome's most clever and creative poet, faithfully matching the epic's wit and style while confronting the sexuality, violence, and politics so many previous translations have glossed over.

Soucy's powerful version breathes new life into Ovid's mythic world, where canonical power dynamics are challenged from below to drain heroes of their heroism, give victims their say, and reveal an earth holier than heaven. Incorporating the latest scholarship alongside annotations, illustrations, and glossary, this edition brings fresh insights to both returning and new readers.

Back Jacket

An astonishing translation. Soucy's sophisticated rhythms carry the force, violence, and beauty of Ovid's immortal poem. Reading it, reading it out loud, I felt so palpably the vitality thrumming beneath the refinement of form.--Richie Hofmann, author of A Hundred Lovers

"What a pleasure to read! For anyone who knows the original, Luke Soucy's swift translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses is full of ingenuity and resourcefulness; for newcomers, it is a superb introduction to the poem's pace and spirit."--Jeff Dolven, author of Senses of Style: Poetry before Interpretation

Author Biography

C. Luke Soucy is a translator, poet, and vocal Minnesota native. In addition to literary translation, he has worked in regional theatre, in a chromatography lab, and as a university bureaucrat. Soucy is a 2019 graduate of Princeton University, where he received the E. E. Cummings Society Prize of the Academy of American Poets.