#2read

"The Homeric Centos, a poem that is Homeric in style and biblical in theme, is a dramatic illustration of the creative cultural and religious dialogue between Classical Antiquity and Christianity taking place in the Roman Empire during the fifth century ce. The text is attributed to Eudocia, the empress and poet who died exiled in the Holy Land ca. 460. With lines drawn verbatim from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the poet begins with the Creation and Fall and ends with Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension. In this blend of Homeric style andw Christian theme, there are also echoes of Classical and Classicizing literature, stretching from Homer and drama to imperial literature; equally prominent are echoes of earlier Christian verse models and theological works. This analysis focuses on the poem’s double inspiration from both classical and Christian traditions; emphasizes the prominent role of women; explores its relationship with the cultural milieu of the fifth century ce; and offers in-depth analysis of the scenes of Creation and Fall and Jesus’ Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension. This book exposes the work’s debt to centuries of Homeric reception and interpretation as well as Christian exegesis, and places it at the crossroads between Christian and pagan literary traditions."

http://thereadersrest.com

'Between 1904 and 1907, German soldiers, settlers and mercenaries committed mass murder in Africa. Can this be considered the first genocide of the 20th century? Was it a forecast of the Third Reich’s extermination policy in Central and Eastern Europe? This book provides the answer. Based on extensive archival and library research in Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, Germany and Poland as well as on the most recent and up-to-date jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals, the renowned historian and political scientist Klaus Bachmann paints a new and surprising picture of the events and their legal significance, which many will find disturbing and provocative. It abolishes many well-established interpretations about German colonialism and its alleged links with the Third Reich and provides a new and intriguing contribution to the current post-colonial debate.'

I don't know why i didn't think to check whether translations of north korean literature (published in the country) were available before. I'm not sure if i will ever actually get to these books on my list because there are a lot of other things I want to read but it feels somehow useful to at least be aware of things existing you know? Even if you know just about nothing about them.

In his masterpiece, the 1881 novel The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (translated also as Epitaph of a Small Winner), the ghost of a decadent and disagreeable aristocrat decides to write his memoir. He dedicates it to the worms gnawing at his corpse and tells of his failed romances and halfhearted political ambitions, serves up harebrained philosophies, and complains with gusto from the depths of his grave. Wildly imaginative, wickedly witty, and ahead of its time, the novel has been compared to the work of everyone from Cervantes to Sterne to Joyce to Nabokov to Borges to Calvino, and has influenced generations of writers around the world."