A Garden of Roman Verse (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum)
by J. Getty
Category: Poetry

The glorious poetry of Rome has endured for more than two thousand years. For most of that time, it was read only in the original Latin, but over the centuries celebrated writers, from John Dryden to Aubrey Beardsley to Ezra Pound, have been inspired to create translations that reflect their own ages, while retaining the vibrancy of the originals A Garden of Roman Verse presents work by four of Rome's finest poets: Catullus, Horace, Ovid, and Virgil. Each poem appears in the original Latin and in English translation, and is illustrated with a detail from Roman paintings or mosaics. The subtle colors and haunting quality of the illustrations evoke the spirit of the age in which this enchanting poetry was written. The combination of the poetry and illustrations, accompanied by notes on each poet and on Pompeii and Herculaneum--where some of the finest examples of Roman paintings were preserved--make this volume a perfect introduction to the towering civilization of Rome.