The Georgics »

Peter Fallon grew up on a farm near Kells in County Meath. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, where he was Writer Fellow in 1994. He founded The Gallery Press in 1970 and has edited and published more than 300 titles. His own books include News of the World: Selected and New Poems (1978) and Tarry Flynn, a dramatization of the novel by Patrick Kavanagh (2004).

Virgil's Georgics, considered to be one of the great poems of Western literature, is ostensibly a didactic poem on agriculture. Challenging this idea, the late Sir Roger Mynors argues that the poem's true subject is humanity and its place in nature and society. The poem is also a landmark in the use of the natural world as material for literature and of special interest because the poet draws not only on his own experience but also on his wide reading of Greek poetry. This commentary examines Virgil's meaning and choice of expression to provide a fuller understanding of the poetry.

Booknews

To translate the Latin poem on Italian agriculture by the renowned first-century Roman poet, Chew draws on modern nature guides, gardening handbooks, how-to-manuals, and scientific treatises. She bases the style on 20th-century poetry. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)