Professor, movie star bring classic literature to life

"Speak memory of the cunning hero." A throaty voice cuts through the sounds of the surf to utter this 2,000-year-old phase. Stanley Lombardo's latest rendition of Homer's Odyssey transports listeners to the epic adventures and classic characters of ancient Greece. As a professor of classics at KU, Lombardo is well known for his contemporary translations of Homer. In 1997, he published the Iliad, which received rave reviews from the New York Times; in 2000, he followed up with Homer's sequel, the Odyssey. Also reviewed in the New York Times, this book received the paper's book of the year award.

Lombardo last month released audio versions of both translations. In the style of the Hellenic "song-stitchers," his recital recreates the great battles of Troy, the drama on Mount Olympus and the long journey home. Movie star Susan Sarandon also worked on the project. Her lilting voice serves as an introduction to Lombardo's passionate prose. This is the second venture about Troy for Sarandon. In 2004, she hosted the documentary "Troy: The Passion of Helen" for A&E. Of her role in the two releases, she says, "This gave me the opportunity to participate in a project featuring two great and important works, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to further support the revival of Greek history and the classics." 

According to Lombardo, the audio books grew from a seed planted when he was a student of New Orleans' Loyola University. "Ever since hearing as an undergraduate the opening lines of the Odyssey in Greek, I have wanted to merge my voice with Homer's, the great master of oral poetry," he adds. "My translations of Homer have always been scripts for performance as well as poetry on the page, and publication has not been complete until now, when Parmenides Publishing has brought out these works as the spoken word." The books, unabridged versions on sale for $42 each, will be followed in the fall by The Essential Homer and The Essential Iliad. 

Lombardo, a Louisiana native, joined the University in 1976 after completing his doctorate at the University of Texas. In addition to his professorship, he serves as director of the University Honors Program. For more information or to purchase an audio book, visit the Parmenides Publishing Web site.

Listen to an excerpt of the Iliad performed by Stanley Lombardo and Susan Sarandon.

Listen to an excerpt of the Odyssey performed by Stanley Lombardo and Susan Sarandon.

Audio clips provided courtesy of Parmenides Publishing.