how to win the lottery s21e1 – the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
our second adaptable/unadaptable module kicks off with a movie in theaters this weekend: the odyssey by homer, as translated by emily wilson. after suffering a disjointed start (in more ways than one!), we spend a while discussing emily wilson’s new translation — and the text’s first 90 pages, covering both her intro and her translator’s note — before talking about why the always-angry internet seems to dislike this version, as well as why this translation is no less authentic than others. we explore emily wilson’s take on repetition and the oral tradition and her personal connections to the text.
then, we pivot to the text itself to ask: does every hero’s journey owe itself to this story? shreds talks about odysseus as “the king of lies” when really he just makes up a bunch of convoluted stories. joey asks: are we supposed to like odysseus? we talk about the lack of disbelief about people simply becoming owls, as well as the ways in which the book is (and isn’t) horny.
how will this be adapted? the structure is weird, and characters are often in disguises. will this translation be reflected at all? we review the casting and offer up other options of our dream directors of the text. the egg sends in two emails.
reading list for season twenty-one
the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner
detransition, baby by torrey peters
antkind by charlie kaufman
the chain by adrian mckinty
your name here by helen dewitt and ilya gridneff
the memory police by yoko ogawa, translated by stephen snyder
the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger
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