Dante for Today: Discussing Mary Jo Bang's Contemporary Translation

Join us for an open conversation about Mary Jo Bang’s recently completed translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy into the contemporary vernacular. Following a brief reading from her versions of Purgatorio (2021) and Paradiso (2025), we will discuss her translation strategies and the continuing relevance of this epic poem.

Reviewers have described Bang's translation as a form of time-travel for the way it weaves in allusions to contemporary events and cultural forms, from hip-hop to television and current memes. Dante's gossipy or snarky references to people of his own time are here translated into cameo appearances from Usain Bolt, Tootsie Fruit Chews, the MGM logo, Leo the Lion, Amy Winehouse, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, and Gertrude Stein among others! As the book's publisher describes, this approach "shepherds The Divine Comedy into the twenty-first century."

“Here, Reader, keep your eyes on the prize, / The curtain over the real is so thin / The light makes certain you can see within.”

You can find PDFs of short excerpts on this link:

https://tinyurl.com/r6ub8src

Come and share your ideas and perspectives!

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

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