originally published 7/1/1995

Poet Robert Pinsky discusses his translation of The Inferno of Dante (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1996). He describes his experience of translating as “scene-painting” — creating an illusion for his English readers — in such a way as to bring the poetry and story to life. He describes the pathos of sin, in Dante’s moral vision, to be a sadness, a wound that the soul inflicts on itself. Pinsky feels that this understanding of sin and grief is recognizable to modern souls who have experienced depression. Pinsky also describes the rich reward of memorizing poetry, describing the joy people feel who are able to possess inside themselves a beloved or stirring poem. This interview was originally published on Volume 15 of the Journal.

9 minutes

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