BOOKS IN ORIGINAL LANGUAGES or TRANSLATED FROM ENGLISH
Storytelling is a human condition (and it is certainly used by non-human species, but translation is waiting on that). Literature is a world-wide manifestation of the condition. I think it is important to pay attention to what language is the home for the storytelling. Not only does Whistlestop carry hundreds of translations of world literature, but where we can we carry the originals, sometimes in dual-language format. For fun we also carry a few titles of contemporary books back-translated into Latin. Try it — you will amazed at how much your brain is fired up when you read a different language!
The Georgics: A Poem of the Land
The Georgics: A Poem of the Land
'Georgic' means 'to work the earth', and this poetic guide to country living combines practical wisdom on tending the land with exuberant fantasy and eulogies to the rhythms of nature. It describes hills strewn with wild berries in 'vine-spread autumn'; recommends watching the stars to determine the right time to plant seeds; and gives guidance on making wine and keeping bees. Yet the Georgics also tells of angry gods, bloody battles and a natural world fraught with danger from storms, pests and plagues. Expansive in its scope, lush in its language, this extraordinary work is at once a reflection on the cycles of life, death and rebirth, an argument for the nobility of labour and an impassioned reflection on the Roman Empire of Virgil's times. Kimberly Johnson's lyrical verse translation captures all the rich beauty and abundant imagery of the original, re-creating this ancient masterpiece for our times.