The Poems of Catullus A Dual-Language Edition with Parallel Text

by Catullus, Gaius Valerius; McCarter, Stephanie

• ISBN13: 9780143136378
• ISBN10: 0143136372
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780525507895
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-07-14
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• More Book Details

Summary

From an award-winning translator, a new dual-language translation of poems by Catullus, the Roman poet and punk, the lover and hater, the hedonist and wretch, famous for his contradictions, on friendship, sympathy, love and sex, and notably, diatribes against enemies.

In his short life, the Roman aristocrat Catullus (84-54 B.C.E) wrote only a single book of poetry. But in it lies some of the most raw and forceful depictions of the vagaries of human emotion to be produced in the ancient world. In the 113 poems featured in this edition, Catullus’ lyricism is equally as romantic as it is violent, capable of capturing the fleeting moments of a burgeoning romance and the cold despondence of its dissolution. McCarter’s new translation animates the colorful lyricism of Catullus, a poet who deftly ensconced readers in the extremes of emotion: from tender admiration of friends to the bitter scorn of foes, from unbridled passion between lovers to religious fanaticism for Gods. Unlike past editions, McCarter’s translation considers the nuances of sexuality and gender in Ancient Rome and features translations tailored to a broader American audience. This edition also includes facing Latin text, ideal for any academic study of Catullus, as well as a general introduction, suggestions for further readings, and endnotes.

Author Biography

Gaius Valerius Catullus lived and wrote during the first-century BCE, a time of political crisis that would mark the end of the Roman Republic. Little is known of his life beyond the enticing biographical scraps found in his poetry. A native of Verona, he offers us an enticing glimpse into the political and cultural life of his time, writing with astonishing frankness about his most famous contemporaries while devoting himself to leisure, poetry, friendship, and love.

Stephanie McCarter (translator and introducer) is a professor of Classics at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. A specialist in the translation of Latin poetry, she won the 2023 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets for her edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Loeb Classical Library Foundation.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction by Stephanie McCarter
A Note on the Translation
A Note on the Text
A Note on Meters
Suggestions for Further Reading

THE POEMS OF CATULLUS

Index of People
Notes