Proms Plus: Re-working a Classic in Poetry

A series of classical tales, from the Iliad to the Inferno have been recast by modern poets. Sean O’Brien has written a version of Dante’s Inferno, and, for the stage, Aristophanes’ The Birds; he is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. Sandeep Parmar’s poetry includes Eidolon, the classical rewrite Helen of Troy in America, and she is a Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool. Catherine Fletcher invites them to reflect on how to find the right words and images when translating a classic work into a modern idiom and what it means to work on something which is well known as two Proms present new work inspired by Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.