First English Traduction, N.P. Van Wyk Louw "Germanicus"
NICOLAAS PETRUS VAN WYK LOUW, Germanicus (Translated and with an Introduction by Jo-Marie CLAASSEN), Dragonfly eBooks, £7 GBP / $10 USD (ISBN 9781 301 402 489).
About the drama:
Tacitus' Annales 1-3 come alive as a powerful drama. Available for the first time in an English translation, this verse drama by the prominent Afrikaans poet N.P. Van Wyk Louw (1906-1970) portrays the dramatic events that followed upon the death of the Roman emperor Augustus in 14 CE, culminating in the death of his adopted grandson Germanicus in 19. Louw's insightful interpretation of Tacitus' incisive portrayal of the corruption inherent in absolute power will appeal to Tacitean scholars and to students of reception or drama.
About the author:
NP Van Wyk Louw (1906-1970) towered over the Afrikaans literary scene as poet and essayist. He was one of the first, perhaps the most prominent, of the so-called dertigers "writers of the thirties"), innovative poets who broke new ground, sending Afrikaans poetry in new directions. Louw led the
way in rejecting a restrictive, colonial-style literature, concentrating rather on intellectual and self-analytical poetry, rich in symbolism and imagery. He was in 1960 awarded the most prestigious Afrikaans literary prize, the Herzog Prize, for "Germanicus", © N.P. Van Wyk Louw 1956.
About the translator:
Jo-Marie Claassen is known for her work on the exiled Roman poet Ovid. She retired from the Department of Ancient Studies at Stellenbosch University in 2001. She has published two books on Ovid and a large number of academic articles on a wide range of topics from the ancient world. Her bilingual home background and interest in languages enabled her to rise to the challenge of translating the idiosyncratic cadences of an Afrikaans classic into modern English verse.
Details:
Approximately 43400 words
Language: English
© Jo-Marie Claassen 2013
Published May 2013
Downloadable from the distributors Smashwords at
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/314998