Inferno: A New Verse Translation by Michael Palma [Paperback]

Dante Alighieri (Author), Michael Palma (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

"Palma's wonderfully readable translation comes close to perfection. I'm tempted to call it a miracle."—X. J. Kennedy

Unlike every known translator before him, Michael Palma re-creates Dante's masterpiece in all its dimensions, without emphasizing some aspects over others, rendering Inferno into contemporary American English while maintaining Dante's original triple rhyme scheme. The result is a translation that can be appreciated for its literal faithfulness and beautiful poetic form, accompanied by facing-page Italian and explanatory notes. "A superb translation; highly recommended."—Library Journal "I find Michael Palma's Inferno to be one that I'm having a hard time improving."—Lawrence Ferlinghetti "I think highly of Michael Palma's Inferno....Readers will find it admirably clear and readable."—Richard Wilbur

Editorial Reviews

Review

A superb translation; highly recommended. -- Library Journal

His wonderfully readable translation comes close to perfection. I'm tempted to call it a miracle. -- X. J. Kennedy

I find Michael Palma's Inferno to be one that I'm having a hard time improving. -- Lawrence Ferlinghetti

About the Author

Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 in Florence to a family of minor nobility. He entered into Florentine politics in 1295, but he and his party were forced into exile in a hostile political climate in 1301. Taking asylum in Ravenna late in life, Dante completed his Divine Commedia, considered one of the most important works of Western literature, before his death in 1321.

Michael Palma is the recipient of the Italo Calvino Award for his translation of My Name on the Wind: Selected Poems of Diego Valeri and of the Raiziss/de Palchi Translation Award from the American Academy of American Poets for his translation of The Man I Pretend to Be: “The Colloquies” and Selected Poems of Guido Gozzano. A poet in his own right, Palma has published three collections of verse, and his poetry has been anthologized in, among other publications, Penguin’s Unsettling America: An Anthology of Contemporary Multicultural Poetry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393323870
• ISBN-13: 978-0393323870
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #770,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compulsively readable translation., March 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Inferno: A New Verse Translation by Michael Palma (Paperback)

Having explored many translations of Dante's Inferno, I found Palma's translation a revelation. I have read those by Mandelbaum, Sinclair, Singleton, Sayers, Anderson, Ciardi, Pinsky, Zapulla and Musa. Although all of them have things in their favor, none of these versions captured me the way that Palma's has. His ability to incorporate Dante's 'terza rima' (triple rhyme scheme - aba bcb cdc, etc.) into his faithful translation, along with a natural, unforced American English syntax, seems to capture some of what Dante might have had in mind. As a reader I was swept along by the language, from tercet to tercet, the rhyme scheme and poetic language providing a powerful driving force that connected the verses within each canto. The Publisher's Weekly review of the hardbound edition took Palma to task for "some puzzling, clunky passages." Well, yes, but the powerful momentum and overall readability provided by the terza rima more than compensates for the occasional "poetic" word order demanded by the rhymes - Palma's introductory essay accurately points out that Dante's Italian has plenty of its own puzzling, clunky passages. I have appreciated Allen Mandelbaum's scholarly blank verse translation for providing an accurate and poetic sense of Dante's meaning - I still use it when I wish to check the appropriateness of a particular translation - but reading it always felt like work. In another recent translation, Pinsky incorporated consonant-driven rhymes (a la Yeats) to simulate terza rima, and though his translation is elegant, it didn't grab me as did Palma's. (And, I admit to being vaguely, and perhaps unreasonably, disturbed by Pinsky's compression of Dantean tercets into smaller numbers of lines.) In comparison, once I started Palma's translation, I couldn't stop reading. Having finished the first reading, I read it again. And then again. This has never happened to me before. It still is on my bedside table, and I dip into it often. It is a joy to read aloud. I appreciate the facing Italian text - it is enjoyable to sound out the Italian for comparison with the English, even if one doesn't read Italian. I'd love to see Palma do the rest of the Divine Comedy - this translation deserves wide respect and readership.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most enjoyable translation of Dante that I have read., March 3, 2010

By 

J. Allen (Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inferno: A New Verse Translation by Michael Palma (Paperback)

I have read several previous translations of the Inferno since high school, all of which have ranged unintelligible to passable. Most of the translations I have read previously were so literal in translation that it was like reading Shakespearean English, this translation, while not perfect was so readable that I was amazed. The Palma translations attempts to maintain the original prose, but what sets him apart is his willingness to abandon the rhyming structure at certain points in order to maintain the flow of the story.

Palma is the first translator that does justice to the Divine Comedy, if you are looking for a readable, enjoyable translation of Dante look no further.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Afternoon light like pollen../but what woke just now at 52.., October 24, 2003

By 

Benjamin Soha (Bozeman, MT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inferno: A New Verse Translation by Michael Palma (Paperback)

I beleve that this translation captures phrases in a poetic diction, that at moments is deeply felt. I admit the voice is very tough, and feels very cold. But this is a really good effect. Since we are gliding in a diction that is Triple Rythme, the voice is very tough and lean. This version alongside Robert Pinsky's Translation, are in my opinion two Wonderful Poems in english. I like Palma's, in that it has so many noble phrases that capture nuances of sharpness and vividness. Some times the phrases are even absoultely touching.
The Inferno is my favorite part of the comedy, it's the only part that has repeated interest. I think purgatorio, is fine to read for the first time, but overall, too much of the 2nd canticle is filled with iron to chew on. Their is some gold to taste, but not nearly enough to keep your interest on repeated hearings. Too Much of the 3rd canticle is just so flimsy and loose, it's very solemn, dry and is itching for action. The only Dante that in my opinion is of true worth is, INFERNO. AND Overall, I still ENJOY Pinsky's verse translation more. The wording he uses is softer, more smoother in the line. Palma's work is still though, a true poem in english. I love it. I beleve that it will take a long time before this translation reaches the public. Since that Michael Palma is a poet who is not as nearly known as Robert Pinsky, nor does he have a distinguished title as maybe Robert Hollander. I would not recomend that you by any other translation than Robert Pinsky's " The Inferno of Dante" or Micheal Palma's new verse translation of "INFERNO". aS MENTioned earlier these our the Pinnacles, because No1, they are poetic, which is refreshing if you've read the boring compacted "Hollander's", or the boring sholastic blank verse of "Mandelbaum". The other translations which are good but not wonderful, like pinsky or palma, would be the Noble blank verse done by Mark Musa, his is very very fine, and has a balance of intelligence coupled with some elegant poetry. Elio Zappula, has done also a blank verse or Iambic Pentameter rendering of the Inferno, and his has a very interesting diction, that once again has a good balance of poetry in it.