From Hip Hop to Homer: Practicing Translation in Central Los Angeles

Abstract

The "Page and Stage" program in Los Angeles Central Public Library allowed audiences to interact closely with several works of classical literature featuring heroic sagas (Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Aeschylus' Seven against Thebes ). By introducing different translations of these ancient texts (Pope's and Fagles' Iliad ), their reinventions (Will Power's Seven ), and relevant works of contemporary literature (Joseph Heller's Catch 22 ) and film (Kurosawa's Seven Samurai ), the organizers opened a space for public debate on ancient and modern ideologies of heroism.