The Student's Catullus

The third edition to Garrison's Catullus is an improvement from the last edition. A minor revision includes updated bibliography concerning textual tradition. But the big improvement is the reformatting of the book's type-face. It is now set in Minion Pro which is easier to read, in my opinion, than Times New Roman. In other words, it is beautifully laid out to present a good book overall. Other things: still remaining are the commentary and vocabulary in the back of the book.

I am a T.A. for a course in Catullus, and I find this book to be very helpful. Included in this volume are the complete extant works of Catullus, a Catulluan vocabulary (crucial because some of Catullus' more colorful vocabulary does not appear in all dictionaries), a brief and informative commentary, a list of people to whom Catullus makes reference, a review of Catullus' meters, and a glossary of terms and their definitions. This book is extremely helpful and is ideal for a student reading Catullus for the first time or a more experienced Latin reader who is attempting to read Catullus' corpus as quickly as possible.

I know from personal experience that this Catullus Student Text is an excellent preparation for the "A.P. Latin: Literature" test, and that students of all types in my class enjoyed using it. Like most AP texts, each poem is accompanied by vocabulary and grammar notes. However, the vocabulary notes offer more than just definition; some help to explain Catullus' word choice. For example, in Poem 1, Catullus appeals to "patrona virgo," his patron muse which the note explains is a reference to Homer's invocation of the muse. The collaboration of two editors, one a Ph.D high-school teacher and the other a Ph.D college professor, creates a student-friendly text that still encourages deeper exploration of the author's work. Moreover, brief introductions to each poem offer possible interpretations or help set the background for the poem. The editors make it clear, though, that these are only possibilities, leaving it to the students to come up with their own interpretation, aided by facts and concrete dates. These introductions also point the reader to other poems, which give more insight on the topic that Catullus is addressing. Every introduction states the meter of the poem, allowing students to practice scansion on their own. It is the extra material, though, that truly makes the book superior. A map shows all the places described in Catullus' poems in relation to each other. The back of the book provides the metrical pattern for every meter used, the literary implications of each meter, and in which poems they are used. An Introduction describes not only Catullus' life and writing style, but gives the political background of that time period, placing all the poems in context. Moreover, the Introduction helps students get a better concept of Catullus' entire work by offering some scholarly arguments as to what order the poems were originally in, and why the editors chose to order them as they are in the text. The accompanying Teacher's Manual, available separately, includes the poems in large type without notes, perfect for quick review in class as an overhead or worksheet. The manual also aids teachers with literal translations of the poems, practice tests, and understanding of the poems. I highly recommend this AP Catullus text, in part because of the aid it provides for reading the poems, but more because it encourages students to develop their own informed understandings. The editors offer facts and dates, along with some possible explanations, but it is largely up to the student to explore the meanings of individual poems, as well as their connection with other poems. The desired result is to point to the significance of Catullus' work as a whole. Thus, this Catullus text is uniquely well suited for both the student who wishes to excel on the AP exam and the student who simply wishes to explore the beauty and passion in the work of Catullus.

This book is simply outstanding--recommended for anyone formally studying Catullus, or perhaps even any Latin student with a passing interest in the poet. Garrison is quite good, for the most part, at letting the poems shine forth unobstructed by any sort of critical commentary. At the same time, he provides a great deal of useful background info for each poem, elucidating quite well the figures and places of Catullus' works, as well as extensive notes, often covering many of the more obscure aspects of the poems.Any drawbacks of the text escape my mind--I have had nothing but positive experiences using Garrison's text. For those studying the poems of Catullus at or below the college level, it's indubitably the best of its kind.

Catullus is lovely. We should all read him once a week, lest we lose our exuberance and become prudes.This paperback edition is excellent for students of Latin, but beware that there are no English translations. There are, however, extensive and high-quality notes by Garrison, including grammatical explanations and vocabulary.