Undeterred and perhaps encouraged by the wave of conversation (and astronomical book sales) surrounding Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Emily Wilson has announced plans to translate Homer’s epic yet again. Bucking the trend of announcing another AI-generated version of the movie, Wilson tells The Associated Press she’s embarking on a “complete retranslation” of the text, “not a revision of the old version.” Wilson’s previous translation, released in 2017, was a massive best-seller and received a shoutout from the Oscar-winning filmmaker as the inspiration for his adaptation. Nevertheless, Wilson panned the film in July, offering such generous criticisms as “I’d be ashamed to have written any part of this script” and accusing the actors of color of playing “versions of the Black best friend, whose only role in the drama is to provide aid to the white protagonist.” She has since rescinded that last criticism and released a second takedown of the film, deragotorially comparing The Odyssey to Die Hard.
For those not keeping up with the Classics, while translators correcting and altering their work is common practice, a complete, ground-up retranslation is practically unheard of. So much so that Wilson says her decision was “very controversial” with her publisher. However, considering her first translation sold more than a million copies, we’re unsurprised that her editor believes “her new approach is bound to be thrilling.”
Wilson’s film critiques weren’t without its critics. Smelling chum in the discourse, apex poster Joyce Carol Oates described the criticisms of “this person, who has benefited enormously from Nolan’s film” as beyond the pale: “One would expect a translator, of all people, beholden to a text, in service to a text, to be just a wee bit more thoughtful & respectful of others who are acting in good faith just as (she would claim) she is.”
Wilson doesn’t fear controversy, particularly not from adults obsessed with children’s literature. Elsewhere in her interview with AP, she dared to call Percy Jackson “not designed for an adult literary reader” and describes the joys of becoming a publicly discussed academic. She adds, “The last few weeks have been a clear illustration of how I’m not in control of the reception of my work […] I actually think in some ways there’s a useful reminder about the powerlessness that comes with the awareness that ‘I’m going to be misunderstood. I’m going to be misread. People are going to hate me.’ I’ve got to accept that.” Judging by this video of her forceful recitation of the opening of The Odyssey in ancient Greek, we can assume Emily Wilson can take the heat.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.