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Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858.

C-SPAN2 TV show to focus on KU professor's book

LAWRENCE -- University of Kansas classics professor Stanley Lombardo's acclaimed translation of Homer's "Odyssey" will be the topic of a live call-in discussion Sunday on C-SPAN2's "BookTV" program.

The program will be broadcast at 1 p.m. Central time and re-broadcast at 8 p.m. Viewers are encouraged to read Lombardo's translation and participate in the book group by calling in with their observations of this classic tale. C-SPAN2 is carried on most cable television systems.

The "Odyssey" follows the adventures of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, and his warriors as they struggle for 10 years after the Trojan War to return to their home island. The story, attributed to the blind poet Homer, is about the difficulty of returning home after being away at war.

Lombardo will discuss his new translation with writers Debra Dickerson, author of "An American Story," and Christopher Hitchens, author of "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice," and J. Bottum, books and arts editor for the Weekly Standard.

More information is available online at www.booktv.org.

Lombardo previously translated Homer's "Iliad" (1997), the "Tao Te Ching" by Lao-Tzu (1993), and poems by Hesiod. He is currently working on a translation of Sappho.

Lombardo joined the KU faculty in 1976 and teaches Greek and Latin at all levels, as well as general courses on Greek literature and culture. He has given dramatic readings of his translations on campuses throughout the country, as well as at such venues as the Smithsonian Institution and the Chicago Poetry Center and on National Public Radio. He was recently awarded a Kemper Fellowship for teaching excellence.