The Fables of Avianus

David R. Slavitt (Translator)

ISBN 10: 0801846846 / ISBN 13: 9780801846847

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993

About this Item

Cloth covered boards with gilt lettering to the spine in a new dust jacket. 8vo. (6.5 x 0.5 x 9.75 inches) Clean text free of marks or underlining. Includes 42 passages. 80 pp. Fast shipping in a secure book box mailer with tracking. "When the word fable is mentioned," writes Jack Zipes in his foreword to this volume, "one automatically thinks of the name Aesop, never Avianus." Nevertheless, the lively and instructive fables of this early fifth-century Roman writer enjoyed significant popularity in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Now the complete work of Avianus- forty-two elegiac fables in all- has been rendered into contemporary English verse by acclaimed translator David Slavitt. The volume also features four new illustrations by the artist Neil Welliver. The fables of Avianus show a world in flux, a topsy-turvy world, in which humor and cunning constitute the only saving grace for humans- and one might add, the poet. While remaining true to the Aesopic spirit of depicting scenes of survival of the fittest in a blunt and candid manner, Avianus is fond of hyperbole and grotesque, and he skillfully employs his hexameters to bring about an iconic twist that often makes the reader question traditional assumptions. Writing at a time when the Roman world was being transformed by the rise of Christianity, Avianus appears to voice doubt about humankind's ability to deal with change. But Avianus's voice was not a voice of despair. Like Aesop, he shows a clear preference in his fables for learning how to survive and for the underdog. These and other parallels between Avianus's world and our own are all the more striking in the splendid verse translations of David Slavitt. Speaking as clearly to us as he did to his Roman contemporaries, Avianus is once again revealed as a shrewd poet who can unmask hypocrisy and overcome adversity every bit as well as his savvy master Aesop.

Seller Inventory # 201734

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Fables of Avianus
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication Date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801846846
• ISBN 13: 9780801846847
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Seller catalogs:
  • Anthropology: Mythology & Folklore
  • Poetry

About this title

Synopsis

"When the word fable is mentioned", writes Jack Zipes in his foreword to this volume, "one automatically thinks of the name Aesop, never Avianus". Nevertheless, the lively and instructive fables of this early fifth-century Roman writer enjoyed significant popularity in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Now the complete work of Avianus - 42 elegiac fables in all - has been rendered into contemporary English verse by acclaimed translator David Slavitt. The volume also features four new illustrations by the artist Neil Welliver. The fables of Avianus show a world in flux, a topsy-turvy world, in which humour and cunning constitute the only saving grace for humans and, one might add, the poet. While remaining true to the Aesopic spirit of depicting scenes of survival of the fittest in a blunt and candid manner, Avianus is fond of hyperbole and the grotesque, and he skillfully employs his hexameters to bring about an ironic twist that often makes the reader question traditional assumptions. Writing at a time when the Roman world was being transformed by the rise of Christianity, Avianus appears to voice doubt about humankind's ability to deal with change. But Avianus's voice was not a voice of despair. Like Aesop, he shows a clear preference in his fables for learning how to survive and for the underdog. These and other parallels between Avianus's world and our own are all the more striking in the splendid verse translations of David Slavitt. Speaking as clearly to us as he did to his Roman contemporaries, Avianus is once again revealed as a shrewd poet who can unmask hypocrisy and overcome adversity every bit as well as his savvy master Aesop.

About the Author

David R. Slavitt, poet, novelist, critic, and journalist, has published more than fifty books. His translations include the 'Metamorphoses' of Ovid, 'The Fables of Avianus', the '"Eclogues" and "Georgics" of Virgil', and 'Seneca: The Tragedies, Vols. 1 and 2', all available from Johns Hopkins.