Its languages may be dead, but the Classics department most definitely is not. After narrowly avoiding a fatal backstabbing from COVID-19 and its restrictions, the department has returned stronger than ever and even seems to be experiencing its own renaissance of sorts, as evidenced by a recent increase in both professors and majors, as well as the activities it has in store this semester. This spring, the department is running two reading groups: Coffee with Virgil, which is continuing from the fall semester, and Anne Carson’s Classics.
Coffee With Virgil
Coffee with Virgil is a Classics department tradition that rose from its own ashes. After being lost to Covid, the group was able to make a triumphant return at the beginning of the 2023 fall semester. Taking place every Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. in the Coffee Closet, the reading group is led by the Chair of the Classics Department and Professor of Classics Darryl Phillips. The group presents an opportunity for students who know Latin at any skill level (and even those who don’t know any at all!) to gather as a group and sight-translate the works of Virgil, perhaps the most notorious of the ancient Roman poets.
Throughout the current academic year, participants have been afforded the pleasure of translating Virgil’s Aeneid, an epic poem considered by many to be the titular literary creation of ancient Rome. A typical meeting entails grabbing tea or a coffee (courtesy of the Classics Department) and sitting down with Professor Phillips to tackle the translation. In their translating endeavors, the group utilizes Clyde Pharr’s publication of the Aeneid. This particular publication contains the original Latin text in addition to a helpful list of vocabulary words and footnotes on each page, as well as a grammatical appendix carrying definitions of every common word in the book that is not included in the vocabulary lists throughout.
Participants go in a circle, taking turns to read the Latin out loud and translate their respective lines into English while receiving occasional assistance from Professor Phillips. However, those present also have the option not to translate and simply follow along for the fun of it, making Coffee with Virgil accessible even to those with rudimentary Latin skills. At the end of each meeting members discuss content, historical context, or their interpretations in regards to what they just read. Although it may be an event hosted by the Classics department, Coffee with Virgil is a group that welcomes anyone interested in Latin or any aspect of its content to show up to a meeting and follow along as they please.
Anne Carson’s Classics
Differing from Coffee with Virgil, Anne Carson’s Classics is a brand new reading group created for anyone interested in classics or literature in general led by Professor of Classics, Brett Evans. The group, after having twelve students sign up, held its inaugural meeting on March 4th at 4:15. Anne Carson’s Classics, much like Coffee with Virgil, takes place in Coffee Closet and offers beverages on an open tab to members.
Having gained notoriety in the field of Classics as both a professor and author, Anne Carson is known not only for her creative (and at times controversial) translations of ancient Greek plays and poetry, but also for her own eclectic projects that draw on elements of ancient Greek literature. Of Carson, Professor Evans writes, “I first read her when I was a freshman in college, and she continues to remind me that the literature from the ancient Greeks and Romans is so much more than a window into the lives of people living thousands of years ago. Studying Greek poetry can be a way to connect with all that is ancient within us.” Members of Anne Carson’s Classics are currently reading Carson’s Autobiography of Red, a self proclaimed “novel in verse”. Within this novel, Carson takes the character of Geryon, a red winged monster from the ancient Greek poet Stesichoros’s account of Herakles slaying Geryon, and places him in a world similar to ours as a young, red, winged boy whom the reader watches grow up. During its first meeting, participants took time to discuss Carson’s background and the premise of the novel, then began to explore what lies within its pages.
Throughout the remainder of the spring semester, members of Anne Carson’s Classics will meet up three more times after reading Autobiography of Red to discuss and analyze what they’ve read. In the meantime, it seems as if the Classics department is thriving and will continue to do so.
