Medieval Studies Program, Division of Languages and Literature, Classical Studies Program, and Bard Translation and Translatability Initiative Present

Finding an Authentic Voice for an Ancient Poet: Translating Eugenius of Toledo
 

“Be present to us, You Holy One, loosen the muscles of our throats,
fill our mouths with articulate phrases, fill our hearts with tears…”
 
“Blubbery fat on his neck chokes off his pudgy gullet
and his horribly raspy voice loses its dulcet tones.”
 
These starkly different couplets were composed during the so-called “Dark Ages” by the same Latin poet: Eugenius of Toledo (d. 657 CE). Maybe. In this workshop, Professors Graham Barrett (University of Lincoln, UK) and David Ungvary (Bard) will expose participants to the challenges of locating an authentic “voice” in Eugenius’s verse, which has never before been rendered into English, but which, in the Middle Ages, was popular enough to inspire a host of imitators and pseudo-Eugenian posers. Together, those in the workshop will explore—partly through experiments in re-writing Eugenius—how various modes of translation may help (or hinder) attempts to find and animate the “true Eugenius,” a poet whose tone can range wildly from pious and reverent to just plain mean. All students and faculty interested in translation are encouraged to attend; no knowledge of Latin is necessary.
 

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For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST/GMT-5

Location: Olin Humanities, Room 102

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