Dante's Inferno, The Indiana Critical Edition (Indiana Masterpiece Editions)
Musa (Italian, Indiana Univ.), who is noted for his translation of Dante's Vita Nuova, adds to the body of contemporary versions of the Inferno. Musa's verse translation is accurate but flattens Dante's poetry and diction; the translations of Ciardi, Mandelbaum, and, more recently, Robert Pinsky (LJ 11/1/93) are more satisfying as poetry. Furthermore, Musa's version does not include the original Italian. Of greater value are the author's detailed textual notes, bibliography of recent work on the Inferno, and collection of critical essays by the leading Dante scholars: Lawrence Baldassaro, Guy Raffa, Denise Heilbronn-Gaines, Amilcare Inannucci, Christopher Kleinhenz, Robert Hollander, Ricardo Quinones, Joan Ferrante, and John Welle. A convenient and accessible edition for academic collections.?T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong State Coll., Savannah, Ga.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.