Description
11-05-2026
Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of The Odyssey is one of the most influential and widely read modern versions of Homer’s epic. First published in 1961 and now presented in Picador’s Deluxe Edition, it offers a poetic yet approachable rendering of the original Greek, balancing narrative clarity with a strong sense of rhythm and atmosphere. Fitzgerald avoids archaic language, instead using a flexible, musical English verse that preserves the epic’s grandeur without sacrificing readability.
The Deluxe Edition enhances the text with a new foreword by Laura Slatkin and an afterword by A. E. Stallings, along with maps, a glossary, and line drawings that introduce each book of the poem. This edition highlights why Fitzgerald’s version has become the standard translation for generations of students and poets, with more than two million copies sold and enduring recognition as the best-loved modern English rendering of Homer’s masterpiece.
About the author of this translation
Robert Stuart Fitzgerald was born in 1910 in Geneva, New York, and grew up in Springfield, Illinois. After studying English and Greek at Harvard University, he began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune and Time magazine. He later transitioned to academia, teaching at Sarah Lawrence College, Princeton, Harvard, and Notre Dame.
Fitzgerald became renowned for his elegant verse translations of classical works, including Homer’s The Odyssey and The Iliad, and Virgil’s The Aeneid. His translation of The Odyssey earned him the prestigious Bollingen Award in 1961 and established him as a leading figure in classical translation. Critics praised his ability to balance poetic rhythm with readability, creating versions that became standard in classrooms and literary circles.
Beyond translation, Fitzgerald wrote poetry, served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, and acted as a major influence on American literary culture until his death in 1985.
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