Poems, Tales and Translations
Books by J. Simon Harris
Review in Publisher’s Weekly
“Comparing Harris’s choices to the raw text is a pleasure, and in invitingly plain-spoken end notes and appendices he illuminates the process, the language, the poem’s allegorical and spiritual dimensions, and much more … Harris offers a lucid, sometimes playful Sir Gawain, one that honors the original’s clarity of action, changes of season, marvelous feasts, amusingly thorough accounts of donning armor. Most importantly, he takes great care to keep the mysteries—of the Green Knight, of magical trinkets, of temptation and virtue—mysterious. The text feels resonant on every page.”
“The book is translated by J. Simon Harris in such a way that you can understand what Dante's original vision was. The very detailed illustrations of not only Florence but also the circles of hell were fascinating. No one has ever translated Dante's vision quite like this. You will gain a new respect for the poet.” – Anelynde Smit, Readers’ Favorite
“J. Simon Harris’s translation of the Inferno is a real work of love. The book is worth reading for all the information, notes, bibliography, and glossary alone! But especially for what seems to be his attempt to capture some of the actual ‘poetry’ of Dante in English … I recommend this to all readers of Dante who want to find something more like Dante himself in English.” – James Sale, The English Cantos