Cavafy in English accents

Everything is Greece to the wise man”, said Philostratus, in his Life of Apollonius of Tyana, at the beginning of the third century AD. The assertion was at once true and defiant: despite the dominance of Rome, Greek was the lingua franca of anyone of intellectual pretensions in the known world. The defiance was both manifest and implicit in Pausanias’s second-century catalogue raisonné of the classical monuments of mainland Hellas: his Description of Greece makes no mention of the temple which the Romans had built adjacent to the Parthenon. Pausanias ignores what all contemporary Greeks found it painful to acknowledge: their long subjection to Rome.’  —Frederick Raphael in the 28.5.14 TLS.

Another Cover of …

Valancourt Books is republishing many out-of-print books of gay interest.

"Gay Power to Gay People"

In celebration of LGBT pride month, Rainbow History Project and the Historical Society of Washington are co-sponsoring a panel discussion of the early 1970s Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and its activities in Washington DC. The panelists are Brian Miller, Kent Jarratt, Michael Yarr, and Nancy Tucker; the discussion will be moderated by Rainbow History Project board member Philip Clark. The event will take place on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 11 a.m.. The discussion will be held in HSW's Kiplinger Library in the former Carnegie Library, 801 K St NW Washington, DC (nearest Metro: Mount Vernon Station on the Green & Yellow lines). The GLF-DC was part of the ferment that followed the Stonewall riots in 1969. The discussion is free and open to the public.

Cicero's Big Lie

The blogger, whatwouldcicerodo, gives his spin on Pro Caelio, Cicero’s speech in defense of Marcus Caelius Rufus. The events surrounding this speech also form the backdrop for Steven Saylor’s The Venus Throw, the fourth book in his "Roma sub Rosa" series. We will discuss the first one, Roman Blood, at our July 2 meeting.

What Would Cicero Do?

"The Unhealthy Sex Life of … "   —

I'm looking forward to our discussion of Roman Blood.

Adam de Hegedus / Rodney Garland Bibliography

Following up on my earlier post about "The Heart in Exile", I have made a list from the online catalogs of the British Library and Library of Congress, and also a few internet searches. The bibliography in full may be viewed on my new blog   thomaswischer.blogspot.com

"Cock" on Stage

Mike Bartlett's Cock, which we voted on recently and may soon discuss, is having its DC premiere at Studio Theatre, May 14 — June 22. I'll be very interested to hear what people think of it.

UPDATE: Some BookMen at the party had seen this production and liked it. Here's Peter Mark's WP review.