Allen Mandelbaum
American Poet, Translator and professor of Literature

Born: May 1926 Died: October 2011 (85) Languages: English, Italian

From a young age, Allen Mandelbaum is said to have a gift for language and poetry. Earning his masters at the age of 20 and doctorate at 25 he studied English and comparative literature. His primary focus was translation from Greek, Latin and Italian. He spent 15 years in Italy studying and immersing himself in the language and culture. He came back to teach in New York and was well known for his translations of The Aeneid, Odyssey, and Divine Comedy.

“His true calling on earth was his poetic mission. He had spent his life preparing for the ultimate journey. All the masterpieces of classical and medieval literature that he translated were, in a sense, chronicles of immense journeys. That near-obsession with travel, that restlessness, that curiosity, led him to spend more time and effort translating the works of other faiths, even as he remained true to his Jewish roots” (King).

His son did say that he had a silly side too, writing poetry about his childhood goldfish or entire ode’s to the pecan.

Key Points Regarding Mandelbaum Translation

Mandelbaum translated Virgil’s The Aenid before he translated Dante

Mandelbaum’s focus on classical story telling and literature.