Lombardo Brings Odessey to Life

Stanley Lombardo, Professor of Classics at the University of Kansas, presented “Odyssey Five Alive” last Wednesday as part of the Lowell Lecture Humanities Series. Lombardo gave a dramatic performance of his translation of Book V of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, in both Greek and English. Lombardo, who is also a Zen master, has translated numerous works of classical literature into English. His most recent translations include The Iliad, published in 1997 and The Odyssey, published in 2000. Lombardo’s translation of The Odyssey was introduced as being true to comfortable spoken language, that its wording was “derived from performance, not the other way around.” The Lowell Lecture Series presented Lombardo as “the closest we will ever come to a bard.” The performance began with Lombardo reciting from memory, and with his eyes closed, the first 27 lines of Book V in Greek. Lombardo explained that “I always do the Greek with my eyes closed. I like to think of Homer as blind.” Lombardo’s performance was accentuated by the steady beat of a small drum. He proceeded to take on the persona of Homer reciting the epic poem. After the first 27 lines, Lombardo continued his presentation in English, but maintained the dramatic interpretation of each character. Book V of The Odyssey chronicles Odysseus’ departure from the island of the nymph Calypso, called the “greatest shipwreck in all literature.” After the performance concluded, Lombardo responded to several questions from the audience. He cited British classicist Christopher Logue as one of his greatest influences. From Logue, he learned “how to create that sharp, contemporary ironic, how to shape a scene” in his translations. Another great influence, Lombardo said, has been translator Robert Fitzgerald. Lombard stated that he also performs a recitation of the entire Odyssey, which lasts about two hours. One audience member asked Lombardo about his translation of the famous first line of The Odyssey, commonly interpreted as “Speak, Muse.” Lombardo’s translation, however, reads “Speak, Memory” instead. He explained that the Greek word “musa” most nearly means “mind goddess,” which conveys the idea of memory. Lombardo cited memory as the main mode of performance in the ancient world — how The Odyssey was originally composed and recited.