Monthly Archives: January 2017

Principiis obsta: resist beginnings!

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

Ovid, in his elegiac poem Remedia Amoris (‘Remedies for Love’), writes (Ov. rem. 89–94, transl. J. H. Mozley): Quale sit id, quod amas, celeri circumspice mente, et tua laesuro subtrahe colla iugo. Principiis obsta; sero medicina paratur, cum mala per … Continue reading →

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Facts vs. alternative facts (formerly known as ‘bull$#!^’): an ancient poem

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

Phaedrus, Rome’s fabulist of the first century A. D., wrote a remarkable piece called Poeta de credere et non credere, ‘The poet’s judgement with respect to believing and not believing’ (Phaedr. 3.10). This is the rather delightful 1761 translation of … Continue reading →

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When Harmony Disintegrates

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family, the saying goes. And it made me wonder: considering that Roman literature is full of stories about family relations, how much do we really know about family life in … Continue reading →

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Creative Processes

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

In 2015, my colleague Dr Rachel Mairs and I organised an international workshop that we called ‘Materialising Poetry‘. I have very fond memories of the day, and the theme that we got to discuss with our colleagues and students has … Continue reading →

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Roman poetry is when…

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

My favourite definition of poetry goes like this: Poetry is when every line begins with a capital letter and does not reach the right margin of the page. I like this definition so much, because, in its focus on two … Continue reading →

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New Year’s Death

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

For at least thirty-nine people their desire to celebrate the new year ended fatally last night in Istanbul when a hitherto unidentified perpetrator marched into a nightclub and gunned down his victims. Another 69 or so have been injured. In … Continue reading →

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