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Poems List

A big book is a big bore.
1

Someone spoke of your death, Heraclitus. It brought me

Tears, and I remembered how often together

3

A great book is like great evil.

R. Pfeiffer (ed.) Callimachus (1949–53) Fragment 465

2

You’re 2 walking by the tomb of Battiades, Who knew well how to write poetry, and enjoy Laughter at the right moment, over the wine.

From The Greek Anthology, P ETER J AY , ed., no. 150, On Himself 3

2

Someone spoke of your death, Heraclitus. 4 It brought me Tears, and I remembered how often together We ran the sun down with talk… somewhere You’ve long been dust, my Halicarnassian friend. But your Nightingales live on. Though the Deathworld Claws at everything, it will not touch them. 3

From The Greek Anthology, P ETER J AY , ed., no. 152

3

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Callimachus (c. 310/305 – c. 240 BC) was a poet, critic, and scholar of the Library of Alexandria, of Greek origin. He was born in Cyrene, Libya, and later moved to Alexandria, where he became a central figure in the intellectual life of the Ptolemaic period. He is credited as one of the leading poets of the so-called "Alexandrian Poetry." Callimachus is famous for his "Aitia" (or "Hymn to Origins"), a collection of poems explaining the origin of customs, names, and legends. He also wrote epigrams, elegies, and an encyclopedic catalog of the works in the Library of Alexandria, known as the "Pinax." His style is characterized by "poeia bebrepis" (concise and carefully crafted poetry), scholarship, and reference to a wide range of mythology. His influence on Roman poets such as Ovid, Catullus, and Horace is notable, especially in elegy and epigram.