Robert Fagles passed away last Wednesday, March 26th. For recent college students or classics lovers, you would know him from his work translating three books of the Western canon into beautiful contemporary poetry. When I was in high school, during the Dark Ages, I read the Odyssey. It was laborious to read and I never felt that I found the “epic” part of the poem. In college, I read the Iliad and several other translations of the Odyssey, as I went through my period as an English major and then a Classics major. I read Richard Lattimore, Robert Fitzgerald and Albert Cook’s translations of Homer’s works. While I grew to love these epics, it was hard work. I hoped that someday a translation would arrive that would make it accessible and exciting to readers, so that they too could enjoy and contemplate tales of war, hubris, wandering, love and honor.

In the 1990s, I heard about a new translation from Robert Fagles. Diane bought it for me for Christmas, one of the few things I actually knew I wanted (I’m usually so noncommittal and rarely give suggestions for gifts). When I cracked open the crisp hard cover, I was immediately drawn into a fantastic story. Fagles succeeded where I think Lattimore and Fitzgerald failed. Homer came alive and leapt off of the pages, making the story feel real and immediate. I flew through the book, even reading passages aloud to Diane. I compared some portions I particularly liked with other translations and really felt that Fagles captured the essence of the poem without losing the content and context. I even reread it a few years later.

Currently, I’m reading his Iliad. Interestingly enough, I think I unknowingly picked it up to read (out of my stack) on the day he died. I don’t think I’ll venture into his Virgil, but that’s a personal preference (I think Homer did it best and Virgil was a poor imitation of the former’s work). The only person I’d compare as a translator to Fagles is Seamus Healy. In particular, Healy’s translation of Beowolf that captured the story but made it accessible for a modern audience. But, for now, we have Robert Fagles fabulous works. I hope you might find a moment and give them a chance. They are definitely worth it, not for reading a “classic” but for reading a great story.