Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 BCE) was one of the most influential lyric poets of ancient Rome. Stephen Mitchell’s many books include the best-selling Tao Te Ching, Gilgamesh, The Book of Job, The Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, The Gospel According to Jesus, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Beowulf.
“What a dream combination, Stephen Mitchell and Catullus! I’ve always loved Catullus for his irreverence, his passion, his idiosyncratic voice, which echoes down the centuries. Now Mitchell has made him one of us, a contemporary poet whose verse unveils the human condition in all its madness and grace. Mitchell’s rare poetic gift shimmers through these translations.”—Jay Parini, author of New and Collected Poems, 1975–2015