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A Complicated Man (The Odyssey, Part 1)

The Norton Library Podcast

The Norton Library Podcast
A Complicated Man (The Odyssey, Part 1)
Aug 03, 2026 Season 5 Episode 1
The Norton Library

In Part 1 of our discussion on Homer's Odyssey, we welcome translator Emily Wilson to discuss Odysseus as a complicated character, the roles of women and divine beings in the poem, and the centuries-old stories within stories that pose questions of hospitality, power, fatherhood, and time still relevant today. 

Part 2, coming tomorrow (8/4), will center Wilson's reaction to Christopher Nolan's recent film. 

Emily Wilson is a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been named a fellow of the American Academy in Rome, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a MacArthur Fellow. In addition to Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, she has also published translations of Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca. She lives in Philadelphia.

To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition of The Odyssey, go to https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393417937

Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.

Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at nortonlibrary@wwnorton.com or find us on Twitter at @TNL_WWN and Bluesky at @nortonlibrary.bsky.social