Ghost Passage

Most famously, Seamus Heaney remarked on ‘chiming the ancient with the modern’. In Ghost Passage, Josephine Balmer’s task is similarly charged. Her rich publication record includes her own poetry, Classical verse translations, editorship of anthologies and, arguably most closely in the context of this latest collection, Piecing Together the Fragments: translating Classical Verse, Creating Contemporary Poetry (OUP, 2013). This is a poet very ready to write this book.

The Paths of Survival

The Paths of Survival, Josephine Balmer’s third collection of poetry, is a captivating read. Balmer has used her background in translation and ancient history to create a series of addictive poetic narratives exploring Aeschylus’ infamous Greek tragedy, Myrmidons. I must admit, prior to reading this collection, I had never heard of the playwright Aeschylus or Read More