Further Papers on Dante: His Heirs and His Ancestors

Introducing the Dante Papers Trilogy: Introductory Papers on Dante Further Papers on Dante The Poetry of Search and the Poetry of Statement Dr. Sayers’ Further Papers on Dante will be warmly welcomed by all who read her Introductory Papers on Dante and by those hundreds more who want to know more about this astonishing poet newly disclosed to them by her vivid Penguin translation of the Inferno and the Purgatorio. The first series dealt mainly with the theological and ethical aspects of the Divine Comedy. The present one is more heterogeneous and pays more attention to the literary and poetic aspects of Dante’s work. Here and there an attempt is made to rescue Dante from the exalted isolation in which he stands, and to compare with him other poets writing on similar themes. ’To label any poet hors concours is in a manner to excommunicate him.’ This is not a work of popularization, but Dr. Sayers has in a high degree the ability to make things plain and readable for the general reader while at the same time revealing much that scholars may have overlooked. These three volumes by Dorothy L. Sayers have been unavailable for far too long. Wipf & Stock Publishers has done both Sayers and Dante studies a true service by bringing these lively, perceptive, and important works back into print. Not only do these collected essays offer engaging insights into the poetry of Dante (as well as other poets), but they also shed significant light on Sayers’ own mature understanding of the Christian faith. Marjorie Lamp Mead Associate Director The Marion E. Wade Center Wheaton College It is now half a century since Dorothy L. Sayers died suddenly, her translation of Dante unfinished and her mind still active. The vigor of these papers on Dante is unequalled and together with her translation of the Commedia made possible a relationship between Dante and the modern reader which was new at the time and is still vividly alive. Barbara Reynolds, author of The Passionate Intellect Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), born and educated in Oxford, was an accomplished novelist, poet, scholar, and Christian apologist. Along with her translations of Dante, her numerous writings include detective stories, radio plays, and studies of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.