A poem in five books, of circular narrative design, titled with the Greek name for Homer, which simultaneously charts two currents of history: the visible history charted in events -- the tribal losses of the American Indian, the tragedy of African enslavement -- and the interior, unwritten epic fashioned from the suffering of the individual in exile.
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Amazon.com Review
Creating an epic poem based on Homer and Odysseus seems a risky proposition for a modern poet, but Derek Walcott accomplishes the feat with stunning results in Omeros. The title, which is Homer's name in Greek, nods to the wandering and exile of the great poet himself, who learned and suffered while traveling. From there, Walcott takes off to "see the cities of many men and to know their minds." After an exhilarating exploration of tremendous proportions, we learn of the past and the present and ride along the rhythm of the words of Walcott in this amazing text.
From Publishers Weekly
This magnificent modern epic by poet-playwright Walcott ( The Arkansas Testament ) follows the wanderings of a present-day Odysseus and the inconsolable sufferings of those who are displaced and traveling with trepidation toward their homes. Written in seven circling books and magically fluid tercets, the poem illuminates the classical past and its motifs through an extraordinary cast of contemporary characters from the island of Santa Lucia: humble fishermen Achilles, Philoctete and Hector; a feverishly beautiful house servant, Helen, who incites her own Trojan War; a local seer, Seven Seas; and the narrator himself, who wanders to the States, to Europe and back again although he knows, "the nearer home, the deeper our fears increase, / that no house might come to meet us on our own shore." Singularly ambitious, and as moving as the works of its namesake, Omeros (Greek for "Homer") remains accessible despite its complexity and divergent strains, which include the privations of Native Americans, African natives and exiled English colonials.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Walcott confidently feels his way into epic form, borrowing the blind eyes of Homer and tropes from Homer's tales. Jam-packed with craft, OMEROS' Dantesque tercets make hairpin turns on the pinpoints of vowels and consonants. Walcott is nothing if not evocative, calling forth the spirits of breadfruit, waves, Plains Indians, sunken treasure, sea creatures and all his other muses with a music that is beyond sounds.
For all the great poetry, what fans of the modern epic will miss in OMEROS is a narrative through-line. Structurally, it is more like William Carlos Williams' PATERSON or especially Hart Crane's THE BRIDGE, than like THE ILLIAD or THE ODYSSEY. The stories in the poem are given secondary importance to the ideas. While I will not disagree with other reviewers' characterizations of the characters as 'well-developed,' I will say that Walcott gives his characters very little to do. The greatest journey is the one taken by the un-named narrator (who seems to be prowling the University Poet circuit from the Carribean to the U.S. to England). Those who want a story with their modern epic are directed to THE CHANGING LIGHT AT SANDOVER by James Merrill.
What Walcott offers in place of narrative is recollections, meditations and essays on a post-colonial world. Certain human motifs are bound to repeat, he says, and demonstrates with the story of fishermen Hector and Achille fighting for the island girl in the yellow dress, Helen. To me, Omeros is really a collection of poems in a similar form spiralling around similar themes, taking up each others' melodies in different keys. Like any symphony, it sometimes gets lost. But its individual passages are, more often than not, magnificent -- and beautiful to hear.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Glenn Becker
Format:Paperback
My review title shouldn't be construed as me claiming any knowledge re: Caribbean culture/history, or indeed -any- of the experiences of the disenfranchised peoples this book touches on. All I can say is that the glowing reviews here on Amazon are accurate. Walcott's poetry is supple almost beyond belief: so facile and brilliant that it would stand between the reader and the subject if Walcott himself didn't admit that, yes, he can be awfully facile and brilliant with the English language! The writer walks a dozen dangerous lines - among them, the could-be-precious placing of himself in his own poem - and walks away triumphant from every single challenge.
If you are looking for a linear "story" in the tradition of Homer but transplanted to a Caribbean locale, this isn't it. If however you are looking for great poetry and the understanding of others (and yourself) that great poetry can bring, then it is right here. OMEROS is eminently worth your time.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
An amazing poem, especially when read in an environmental context similar to St. Lucia. I attended a semester in the Bahamas, where our English class spent fifteen weeks reading and dissecting the poem. "Omeros" is stunning, elegantly written, subtle and outspoken at the same time. The mingling of Helen and Helen, of Mr. Walcott's personal history (or the history of the "phantom narrator," as we chose to call him) and that of his island are masterful. A challenging but very worthwhile read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Contemporary Epic Poem In English
I also own Walcott's Collected Poems from 1984. But Omeros is better and more ambitious than anything in that volume. And it's extremely ambitious. Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. Cohen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spoke to my roots
Walcott grew up in St Lucia and I grew up in Jamaica, but every line brought back "memories". Read more
Published 1 month ago by Diana Hillengas
1.0 out of 5 stars
A waste of time
We were subjected to this work my freshman year of university. The same university that the author graduated from. This work unfortunately supplanted T.S. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Kristin Wallin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Visions of Caribbean Life
Mr.Walcott is essentially a poet of nature, magnificent in description. He has here, with, I believe, substantial success, attempted to write an epic of the Caribbean. Read more
Published 7 months ago by michaely
3.0 out of 5 stars
A multilayered paean to St. Lucia and meditation on postcolonialism,...
Published in 1990, OMEROS is a poem by expatriate Caribbean poet Derek Walcott about his native island of St. Lucia and, by extension, postcolonial locations everywhere. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Christopher Culver
4.0 out of 5 stars
Esoteric read
Very interesting and scholarly read. This is only for serious readers willing to devote the time to all the references. It is similar to a modern James Joyce book.
Published 23 months ago by M. Cohen
5.0 out of 5 stars
classical poetry in our contemporary world
It is an all too uncommon delight to read a contemporary work that contains all the greatness of classical literature, that deserves to be shelved beside Shakespeare, Homer, and... Read more
Published on August 15, 2009 by Kelsey May Dangelo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
This richly allusive poem is an exploration of the colonial experience, primarily from the viewpoint of the dispossessed. While based in Walcott's native St. Read more
Published on November 9, 2008 by R. Albin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Epic
Exploring the relationships between natives, tourists, and nature, Walcott moves beyond just our relationships with one another to create this modern epic. Read more
Published on March 13, 2005 by J. C Duchi
5.0 out of 5 stars
You Want Me to Read an Epic?
When I was given this to read - I said, "WHOA!"
I rolled through this poem and its circular themes and its secrets and symbols - tremendous and sad. Read more
Published on May 30, 2001 by Akethan
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