Homer-Haunted: The Many Afterlives of an Ancient Poet, 'beautiful and strange' Rory Stewart on The Rest is Politics

Homer-Haunted: The Many Afterlives of an Ancient Poet, 'beautiful and strange' Rory Stewart on The Rest is Politics

• 'It's rich and beautiful and strange'Rory Stewart,The Rest Is Politics
  
  'This is such a brilliantly told story of Homer-obsessives through the ages that, by the end, you're as hooked on Homer as they were'Frank Skinner
  
  'Every page is an illuminating joy'A. N. Wilson
  
  'An endlessly generous book'Daisy Hay
  
  This is the story of how two ancient epics captured the world's imagination.
  
  The siege of Troy and Odysseus' long voyage home have inspired many of our most thrilling and radical poets. Henry Power takes us on a surprising journey through the afterlives of these mysterious epics, and the search for the poet who created them.
  
  Guiding us through the twists and turns of theIliadand theOdyssey,Power travels to the places where Homer's stories have taken root from the islands of Greece to the Scottish Highlands, the Devon coast to suburban Los Angeles to trace the footsteps of the poets, politicians, lunatics, and lovers haunted by Homer's mythical heroes and monsters.
  
  A dazzlingly original and deeply personal testament to the power of poetry,Homer-Hauntedis an epic account of how our oldest stories have shaped the way we read, write, and think.

  This is the story of how Homer, the ancient poet of theOdysseyand theIliad songs of war and exile - still inspires us today.Henry Powerstudied Classics and English at Oxford and then took his PhD at Cambridge. He is now Professor of English Literature at the University of Exeter. He has published widely and his most recent book is an edition of Alexander Pope's Major Works for Oxford University Press. He is also a regular contributor to publications such as theTimes Literary Supplement,Evening StandardandLiterary Review, and has appeared as a guest onIn Our Timeon BBC Radio 4.

  This rich embroidery of the British poetic story, from Chapman's Homer to contemporary writers, is a wonder of imaginative scholarship. The reader feels as excited as Keats, 'silent upon a peak of Darien'. We learn much about the British cultural tradition, but also about the immortal genius of Homer himself.Every page is an illuminating joy. A. N. Wilson
  
  This is such abrilliantly told story of Homer-obsessivesthrough the ages that, by the end, you're as hooked on Homer as they were. Frank Skinner
  
  It'srich and beautiful and strange. Rory Stewart, The Rest Is Politics
  
  I am bowled over by this book, by its range and erudition, its enormous capacity for empathy with a stadium-full of different minds and times and individualities. It is a triumph of understanding and wit, the very best of what criticism and biography and sheer reading can do. It is also written with a deeply receptive frame of mind, constantly championing the neglected and disparaged.To read it is to be enriched. Adam Nicolson
  
  Full of wit, wisdom and wonder, in this beautifully illustrated book Henry Power brings Homer's stories, their cultural impact and continuing relevance to our society, vividly to life. Lachlan Goudie
  
  Homer-Hauntedis an endlessly generous book, written with a wonderful lightness of touch. Pope, Keats, Thom Gunn, returning World War II soldiers, Alice Oswald and many more meet in its pages through encounters with Homer that open up worlds of poetry and history as they unfold. The result isa joy for all those that love Homer, and a revelation for all those new to these glorious poems. Daisy Hay
  
  engaging, at times funny, occasionally moving and always readable&as Power shows, Homer appeals to the spirit of every age& Power is an entertaining companion&Homer-Hauntedshows brilliantly why Homer has lasted for 3,000 years and whyThe IliadandThe Odysseywill last for 3,000 years more. The Times
  
  absorbing.

• Power, Henry
• ISBN: 9781399428156