Category Archives: Poetry

Killing Jokes and Suicide Jests

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

There are two essential rules for anyone who wants to crack a joke: timing, timing, timing – and be mindful of your audience. Aelius Lamia, who had his first wife, Domitia Longina, pinched by Domitian, had to learn that lesson … Continue reading →

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Season’s Greetings

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

There is no denying it: the festive season is upon us. Could I give my readership a more appropriate present than the text and my translation of two Latin verse inscriptions from the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem – … Continue reading →

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Pope Damasus on Torture

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Pope Damasus I (b. 305-ish, d. 385) was keen to promote veneration for the martyrs of the early Christian church. In order to achieve this he, among other things, composed epigrams, e. g. to decorate the burial spots of those … Continue reading →

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Sick Of It All

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Recent days saw a great number of reports, analyses, and comments on the death of Stefan Grimm, late professor of toxicology at Imperial College, London. Several of these items contained copies of emails that (allegedly) were sent in the context … Continue reading →

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Movember: Three Bewhiskered Latin Verse Inscriptions

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

November is Movember, and as Movember is almost over now, it is high time to present a choice of three outstanding and remarkable inscribed Latin poems that mention beards. As the idea behind Movember is to raise awareness of men’s … Continue reading →

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To Be All Ears

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Today, I have had the immense pleasure to visit the University of Pisa. I was invited to talk about an aspect of my recent linguistic research, carried out in 2013 in collaboration with my brilliant undergraduate research assistant Abi Cousins, … Continue reading →

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The Other 99%, Or: Much Ado about Nothus

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Ancient literary Latin poetry – with a few exceptions such as scripts for theatrical performances, for example – is commonly regarded as an upper-class elite phenomenon, and, on average, perhaps rightly so. This observation was one of the many reasons … Continue reading →

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Trick or Treat? Torture, Death, and a Chilling Poem

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Halloween 2014 is near. As every year, people around the globe will celebrate this occasion. Children and grown-ups alike will indulge themselves in the pleasurable thrill that arises from this day’s spooky combination of the fantastic with the morbid. Halloween … Continue reading →

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The Top 3 (+1) Latin Poems on STDs and Related Issues [NSFW]

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

This week is SHAG week at the University of St. Andrews, where I am spending a wonderful time at the moment working on my project on the Latin verse inscriptions. One aspect that makes the subject of my research so … Continue reading →

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Operation Mos Maiorum, Or: Ve Hav Vays … (Of Our Ancestors, That Is)

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

On Monday, 13 October, an EU-wide joint police operation will commence. It will last for two weeks, and its purpose is to target undocumented immigrants to the EU, to investigate their routes into the EU, and to crack down on … Continue reading →

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