Homer-Haunted

'This is such a brilliantly told story of Homer-obsessives through the ages that, by the end, you're as hooked on Homer as they were' Frank Skinner 'Every page is an illuminating joy' A. N. Wilson 'An endlessly generous book' Daisy Hay This is the story of how two ancient epics captured the world's imagination. The siege of Troy and Odysseus' long voyage home have inspired many of our most thrilling and radical poets. Henry Power takes us on a surprising journey through the afterlives of these mysterious epics, and the search for the poet who created them. Guiding us through the twists and turns of the Iliad and the Odyssey, Power travels to the places where Homer's stories have taken root – from the islands of Greece to the Scottish Highlands, the Devon coast to suburban Los Angeles – to trace the footsteps of the poets, politicians, lunatics, and lovers haunted by Homer's mythical heroes and monsters. A dazzlingly original and deeply personal testament to the power of poetry, Homer-Haunted is an epic account of how our oldest stories have shaped the way we read, write, and think. 'Homer-Haunted is an endlessly generous book, written with a wonderful lightness of touch. Pope, Keats, Thom Gunn, returning World War II soldiers, Alice Oswald and many more meet in its pages through encounters with Homer that open up worlds of poetry and history as they unfold. The result is a joy for all those that love Homer, and a revelation for all those new to these glorious poems.' Daisy Hay 'This rich embroidery of the British poetic story, from Chapman's Homer to contemporary writers, is a wonder of imaginative scholarship. The reader feels as excited as Keats, 'silent upon a peak of Darien'. We learn much about the British cultural tradition, but also about the immortal genius of Homer himself. Every page is an illuminating joy.' A. N.