Omeros - Softcover

Walcott, Derek

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0374523509 ISBN 13: 9780374523503

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992

Synopsis

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.

About this title

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.

About the Author:

Derek Walcott was born in St. Lucia in 1930. His Collected Poems: 1948-1984 was published in 1986; his subsequent works include the book-length poem Omeros (1990), The Bounty (1997), and Tiepolo's Hound (2000), illustrated with the poet's own paintings. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0374523509
• ISBN 13: 9780374523503
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336