Catullan Provocations: Lyric Poetry and the Drama of Position (Classics and Contemporary Thought, 1) [Hardcover]

William Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classics and Contemporary Thought, 1 | Publication Date: January 23, 1996

Restoring to Catullus a provocative power that familiarity has tended to dim, this book argues that Catullus challenges us to think about the nature of lyric in new ways. Fitzgerald shows how Catullus's poetry reflects the conditions of its own consumption as it explores the terms and possibilities of the poet's license. Reading the poetry in relation to the drama of position played out between poet, poem, and reader, the author produces a fresh interpretation of almost all of Catullus's oeuvre. Running through the book is an analysis of the ideological stakes behind the construction of the author Catullus in twentieth-century scholarship and of the agenda governing the interpreter's position in relation to Catullus.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Exciting and provocative. . . . A really refreshing book. By directing attention away from Catullus the individual and onto the poetry, Fitzgerald focuses upon our reaction with the poetry and articulates Catullus's provocations to consider what kind of practice poetry is." -- Susanna Morton Braund, The Classical Review

"Fitzgerald manages to break new ground. . . . A stimulating and thoughtful study of the poetry of Catullus." -- Christopher Nappa, The Classical Journal

About the Author

William Fitzgerald is Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at the University of California, San Diego.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 319 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (January 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520200624
• ISBN-13: 978-0520200623
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,504,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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