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Salvete Omnes!

March 2 marked the 105th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss). To celebrate the occasion, Bolchazy-Carducci author Rose Williams recorded a podcast of her reading Cattus Petasatus: The Cat in the Hat in Latin, which you can listen to by clicking here. We are offering a special discount on this book to our eLitterae subscribers.

We also celebrate the publication of Benita Kane Jaro’s new historical novel, Betray the Night, a tale of the aftermath of Ovid’s relegation told from the perspective of his wife, Pinaria. Vicki Wine reviews the book here and provides some suggestions on how to incorporate the book into a Latin class.

For those of you who either taught or took Latin in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, or early ’00s, you probably read Bernard Barcio’s Pompeiiana Newsletter. Those issues are now being posted online via a new blog: http://pompeiiana.blogspot.com. Read about Latin pedagogy from 30 years ago, laugh at the cartoons, recite poetry, and more. A new issue is posted every day, so check back often!

Conference season is now upon us, and Lou, Marie, and Allan Bolchazy, along with yours truly, are looking forward to seeing you at the annual meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS), April 1-4, in Minneapolis. I will be traveling from Minneapolis directly to Glasgow, Scotland, to exhibit books and deliver a paper on “Mobile Latin” at the Classical Association conference from April 3-6.

On February 20-21, I had the honor of participating in the Greek and Roman Games in the Computer Age conference at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. I presented on Latin pedagogy via computer games. You can read the conference summary by clicking here. A formal publication of the proceedings including papers, images, PowerPoint slideshows, and game demos, will be produced later this year.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew Reinhard
eLitterae Managing Editor
Director of eLearning
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Shedding Light on Love and Ovid
(and Pinaria’s plight)

Benita Kane Jaro’s Betray the Night has as its subtitle “A Novel About Ovid.” The story takes place during the time of Ovid’s exile and is told from the perspective of Ovid’s wife, Pinaria, but is indeed very much about Ovid, as it weaves passages from his poetry into the account, and reveals the political climate in which Ovid wrote. Jaro has constructed a conspiracy theory to explain the reason for Ovid’s banishment to the Black Sea. She explains in endnotes how she developed her reconstruction, in consultation with other authorities.

Pinaria as narrator gives us a glimpse of women’s lives, roles, and limited rights at this time in Roman society. Her interactions with her daughter, slaves, and friends show us the concerns a Roman woman had and how she went about fulfilling her functions as wife and mother.

An historical novel works as a sort of time machine, transporting the reader to the past, but giving the reader at the same time the ability to understand the language and cultural context. Jaro’s extensive research provides details that bring out the day-to-day interactions of women and of the different social classes in Rome. She shows how most of the citizens lacked understanding of the reason for Ovid’s exile, amongst other events occurring during this period of fear and distrust. Historical characters like Cotta and Tiberius, and historical events, such as the defeat of the army in Germany, come to life, much as the reconstruction and repainting of a temple or other building allow us to feel as if we were looking at the past.

Certainly the book is worth reading for itself, whether for a Classicist, someone interested in history or literature, or a person simply looking for an engaging story. But the book is especially helpful as a companion to reading or studying Ovid. The interwoven passages of Ovid’s poetry (in translation) help the student who is reading Ovid’s poetry in the original see the forest made up of the trees of Latin words. The context of the passages shows the popularity of Ars Amatoria, the setting of Amores I.5, Ovid’s use of Tristia, and a suggestion for how the theme of Metamorphoses reflects Ovid’s worldview.
 
For students studying mythology, literature in translation, history of Latin literature, or Roman history, reading the detail in this historical novel helps to make the past take on the reality of contemporary times. Passages depicting festivals, dinner parties, and life in the home can be used in classes to flesh out what daily life might have been like. As the reader is drawn into Pinaria’s search for answers and a way to bring her husband home, we gain an understanding of Roman culture and Ovid’s contribution to literature.

Teaching lesson:
Passages from Jaro’s Betray the Night can be used to supplement teaching culture and literature in a Latin, history, or mythology course. The following grid shows what topics  are available, with the page numbers within parentheses.

1. These passages can be read to the class at appropriate times, to complement the study of Roman life in a language, literature, history, or ancient societies class. 

2. Or, students can be assigned the reading for projects or further research.

Cultural topics:
morning scenes (272–3, 291)
the streets of Rome at night (36–7)
traveling to Rhegium (170)
arranging a marriage and dowry (219), wedding preparation (223), marriages (123–4)
news of Augustus’ death, funeral, will (259–66)
Fabius Maximus’ greatness and funeral (275–7)
a child’s funeral (267, 269)
deification of the emperor (270)
difficulty of being in a political family (279–80)
Cotta’s influence (33)
Ovid’s choice of career (165)
use of omens (249)

Ovid’s poetry:

This catalogue of the context in which these passages appear, and the nature of the passages themselves, can guide the teacher for when best to use them for adding background to reading Ovid’s poetry in class. The passages and their context within the novel can also supplement studying history of this time in the Empire, or the interplay between literature and social concerns.

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Comic from When In Rome, Best Cartoons of Pompeiiana Newsletter.

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Special Discounts for eLitterae Subscribers

Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers invites its eLitterae subscribers to take advantage of a 50%, single-copy discount on either of the following titles for February/March:

Betray the Night: A Novel About Ovid
by Benita Kane Jaro
ISBN  978-0-86516-712-4, $25.00 $12.50

Cattus Petasatus: The Cat in the Hat in Latin,
translated by Terence and Jennifer Tunberg
Paperback ISBN 978-0-86516-472-7, $22.00 $11.00
Hardbound ISBN 978-0-86516-471-0, $31.00 $15.50

One copy, prepaid, no returns, not available to distributors. Offer expires 03/31/09.

Make sure you mention that you are an eLitterae subscriber when you place your order. If you place your order via the Bolchazy-Carducci web site at www.BOLCHAZY.com, during checkout please enter "No. 62" (withouth the quotation marks) in the Comments field. Your discount will be verified and applied after your order is placed.

Monthly Specials are available on our website, check our "Special Offers" link.

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Online Classics blogging and social networks are not just an American phenomenon. Visit these international sites to learn what other countries are doing in support of Classics education:

Moa Ekbom manages the “Latinblogg” in Sweden, posting daily about Latin pedagogy in her home country. Most Swedish Latin teachers and Classics students subscribe to the blog (which is written in a very accessible English): http://latinblogg.blogspot.com

Classics is alive and well at all levels in Spain. One of the best blogging sites (in Spanish) for Latin pedagogy is available here: http://latineneso.ning.com/

For those eLitterae subscribers who are Hellenists, the Center for Greek Language maintains a comprehensive website on Greek linguistics, from ancient to modern Greek, here: http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/index.htm

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See the Bolchazy-Carducci web site for classroom tips on teaching Catullus and on using children's books translated into Latin, Christmas carols in Latin, and Latin proverbs to teach grammar. In the search box, type "teaching tips" to see all that are available (click on a title to view and click on the teaching tip link).

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