Mary Jo Bang, translator of Paradiso, in conversation with Stephanie Burt

When:
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025 7:00p -
8:00p

Where:
Porter Square Books
1815 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140

EventScheduled OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Admission:
FREE

Hosted by:
...
psb_events Porter Square Books

Categories:
Lectures & Conferences

Event website:
https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/2025-07-10/mary-jo-bang-translator-paradiso-conversation-stephanie-burt

Porter Square Books is excited to welcome poet Mary Jo Bang for the release of her translation of Dante's Paradiso. Poet Stephanie Burt will join Bang in conversation. 


This event will take place at our CAMBRIDGE store. We offer validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley's University Hall. See parking details below.


RSVP to let us know you're coming and to receive event updates!*


*Please note that you will not receive a confirmation email. However, we will send a reminder email one day before the event. Please check your spam folder if you do not see the pre-event email reminder. Better yet, add [email protected] to your safe sender list to avoid PSB event emails going to spam!



ABOUT PARADISO


Mary Jo Bang’s translation of Paradiso completes her groundbreaking new version of Dante’s masterpiece, begun with Inferno and continued with Purgatorio. In Paradiso, Dante has been purified by his climb up the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory, and now, led by the luminous Beatrice, he begins his ascent through the nine celestial spheres of heaven toward the Empyrean, the mind of God. Along the way, we meet the souls of the blessed—those at various proximities to God, but all existing within the bliss of heaven’s perfect order. Philosophically rich, spiritually resonant, Paradiso is a reckoning with justice and morality from a time of ethical questioning and political division much like our own.


Bang’s translation is a revelation in its artistry, readability, and faithfulness to Dante’s ambition for an epic poem that dares to employ language and references recognizable to its readers. In her lyric style and her illuminating and generous notes, Bang has made The Divine Comedy for the twenty-first century.



PRAISE FOR PARADISO


“Bang’s translation is uniquely here and now.”—Kevin Young, The New Yorker


“Bang’s thrillingly contemporary translation . . . is indeed epic.”—Elisa Schappell, Vanity Fair


“For as long as I’ve known to look for him, Dante has been far from me. To some extent, this is inevitable—to an American living in the twenty-first century, Dante’s fourteenth-century Florence is a strange world. English has seen beautiful translations of The Divine Comedy, but none can bring today’s reader closer to the poem than Mary Jo Bang’s. This is because Bang has recognized that the Comedy is a living poem, contemporaneous with all poetry that has followed it. Having translated it into a language alive to the very moment in which it is meant to be read, Bang has done the impossible: she has revitalized that which is eternal.”—Shane McCrae, author of The Gilded Auction Block



ABOUT THE POETS


Mary Jo Bang has published nine collections of poetry, including Elegy, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and translations of Dante’s Inferno and Purgatorio. She teaches at Washington University in Saint Louis.


Stephanie Burt is the author of five poetry collections, including Advice from the Lights and Belmont, and several works of criticism, including Don’t Read Poetry and Close Calls with Nonsense. She teaches at Harvard University.



PARKING


Porter Square Books: Cambridge Edition offers validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley's University Hall. Roseland Street is accessible by Beacon Street and Mass Ave. When you arrive at the lot, use the screen on the kiosk to get a ticket.


When you're ready to leave, ask for a validation barcode at the cash register. (No purchase necessary.) Parking is free on weekends and weekday evenings from 6PM-7AM. From 7AM-6PM on weekdays the first 45 minutes are free. 


Upon exiting the lot, scan your ticket and choose "validation." Then scan the barcode your received from us. If you have an additional charge, you will be prompted to pay after scanning your barcode. 

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07/10/2025 19:00:00 07/10/2025 20:00:00 America/New_York Mary Jo Bang, translator of Paradiso, in conversation with Stephanie Burt <p><strong>Porter Square Books</strong> is excited to welcome poet <strong>Mary Jo Bang </strong>for&nbsp;the release of her translation of Dante's <a href="https://www.portersquarebooks.com/book/9...

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