Allen Mandelbaum

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Allen Mandelbaum (May 4, 1926 – October 27, 2011) was an American professor of literature and the humanities, poet, and translator from Classical Greek, Latin and Italian. His translations of classic works gained him numerous awards in Italy and the United States.

Early life and education

He was born in Albany, New York in 1926[1] and at age 13 moved with his family to Manhattan. After beginning his higher education at Yeshiva University, he studied English and comparative literature at Columbia University, receiving his master's degree in 1946 and his doctorate in 1951. He then spent 15 years in Italy.[2]

Academic career

He taught English and comparative literature at the

Graduate Center of the City University of New York from 1966 to 1986 and served as executive officer of the Ph.D. Program in English from 1972 to 1980.[3] In 1989 he was named the W. R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Humanities at Wake Forest University
.

Translations

His translation of the

Florence, Italy
, for the 735th anniversary of Dante's birth, and was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor of the City of Florence for his translation of the Divine Comedy. In 2003, he was awarded The Presidential Prize for Translation from the President of Italy, and received Italy's highest award, the Presidential Cross of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity.

Awards

  • 1973: National Book Award for translation
  • 2000: City of Florence Gold Medal of Honor
  • 2003: Italian Presidential Prize for Translation
  • 2003: Italian Presidential Cross of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity
  • Order of Merit from the Republic of Italy
  • Premio Mondello
  • Premio Leonardo
  • Premio Biella
  • Premio Lerici-Pea
  • Premio Montale at the Montale Centenary in Rome
  • Circe-Sabaudia Award

Death and legacy

He died in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 2011.[2]

Published works

Verse

  • Journeyman
  • Leaves of Absence
  • Chelmaxioms: the maxims, axioms, maxioms of Chelm (1977)
  • A Lied of Letterpress for Moser and McGrath (1980)
  • The Savantasse of Montparnasse

Translations

Classics

  • The Aeneid of Virgil (rev. 1971). New York: Bantam. 1981.
    ISBN 0-553-21041-6
    .
  • Homer's Odyssey. New York: Bantam. 1991.
    ISBN 978-0-553-21399-7
    .
Further information: English translations of Homer § Mandelbaum

Contemporary Italian poetry

Edited work

References

  1. ^ "Allen Mandelbaum". Winston-Salem Journal, November 4 to 6, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Allen Mandelbaum, Translator of Divine Comedy, Dies at 85". William Grimes. The New York Times, November 5, 2011.
  3. ^ "Graduate Center Community News | February 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  4. ^ "National Book Awards – 1973". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
    There was a "Translation" award from 1967 to 1983.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Allen Mandelbaum.
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