Michael C. J. Putnam
Encyclopedia
Michael Courtney Jenkins Putnam (born September 20, 1933) is an American classicist specializing in Latin literature
, but has also studied literature written in many other languages. Putnam has been particularly influential in his publications concerning Virgil
's Aeneid
. He is the son of politician and businessman Roger Putnam
. Putnam received his B.A., M.A., and Ph. D. from Harvard. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1959 he taught at Smith College
for a year. He then moved on to teach at Brown University
and serving as W. Duncan MacMillan II Professor of Classics and a professor of comparative literature for 48 years before retiring in 2008. He was awarded the 1970 Rome Prize
.
He has also recently translated and edited Maffeo Vegio: Short Epics (2004); Poetic Interplay: Catullus and Horace (2006).
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings of the ancient Romans. In many ways, it seems to be a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms...
, but has also studied literature written in many other languages. Putnam has been particularly influential in his publications concerning Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
. He is the son of politician and businessman Roger Putnam
Roger Putnam
Roger Lowell Putnam was an American politician and businessman. A member of the prominent Lowell family of Boston, he served as Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1937 until 1943, and as director of the Economic Stabilization Administration from 1951 until 1952...
. Putnam received his B.A., M.A., and Ph. D. from Harvard. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1959 he taught at Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
for a year. He then moved on to teach at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and serving as W. Duncan MacMillan II Professor of Classics and a professor of comparative literature for 48 years before retiring in 2008. He was awarded the 1970 Rome Prize
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
.
Publications
In addition to the countless articles and reviews Michael C. J. Putnam has written, he has written many books.- The Poetry of the Aeneid (1965)
- Virgil's Pastoral Art: Studies in the Eclogues (1970)
- Tibullus: A Commentary (1973)
- Virgil's Poem of the Earth (1979)
- Essays on Latin Lyric, Elegy, and Epic (1982)
- Artifices of Eternity: Horace's Fourth Book of Odes (1986)
- Virgil's Aeneid: Interpretation and Influence (1995)
- Virgil's Epic Designs
- Ekphrasis in the Aeneid (1998)
- Horace's Carmen Saeculare: Ritual Magic and the Poet's Art (2000).
He has also recently translated and edited Maffeo Vegio: Short Epics (2004); Poetic Interplay: Catullus and Horace (2006).