{"product_id":"long-live-latin-the-pleasures-of-a-useless-language-9781250758149","title":"Long Live Latin: The Pleasures of a Useless Language","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA lively exploration of the joys of a not-so-dead language\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the acclaimed novelist and Oxford professor Nicola Gardini, a personal and passionate look at the Latin language: its history, its authors, its essential role in education, and its enduring impact on modern life--whether we call it \"dead\" or not. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat use is Latin? It's a question we're often asked by those who see the language of Cicero as no more than a cumbersome heap of ruins, something to remove from the curriculum. In this sustained meditation, Gardini gives us his sincere and brilliant reply: Latin is, quite simply, the means of expression that made us--and continues to make us--who we are. In Latin, the rigorous and inventive thinker Lucretius examined the nature of our world; the poet Propertius told of love and emotion in a dizzying variety of registers; Caesar affirmed man's capacity to shape reality through reason; Virgil composed the \u003ci\u003eAeneid\u003c\/i\u003e, without which we'd see all of Western history in a different light. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eLong Live Latin\u003c\/i\u003e, Gardini shares his deep love for the language--enriched by his tireless intellectual curiosity--and warmly encourages us to engage with a civilization that has never ceased to exist, because it's here with us now, whether we know it or not. Thanks to his careful guidance, even without a single lick of Latin grammar readers can discover how this language is still capable of restoring our sense of identity, with a power that only useless things can miraculously express.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNicola Gardini\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford. A novelist, poet, critic, translator, and painter, he is the author of numerous books. One of his recent novels, \u003ci\u003eLost Words\u003c\/i\u003e, was awarded the Viareggio-Rèpaci Prize and the Zerilli-Marimò \/ City of Rome Prize for Italian Fiction. \u003ci\u003eLong Live Latin\u003c\/i\u003e was a bestseller in Italy and has been translated into several languages. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eTodd Portnowitz\u003c\/b\u003e is the translator of the poetry collections \u003ci\u003eGo Tell It to the Emperor\u003c\/i\u003e by Pierluigi Cappello and \u003ci\u003eMidnight in Spoleto\u003c\/i\u003e by Paolo Valesio, and the recipient of a Raiziss\/de Palchi Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Picador USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50671326822674,"sku":"9781250758149","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c62b2d8a-48fd-4953-81f6-9f55d518ee55.jpg?v=1733798267","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/long-live-latin-the-pleasures-of-a-useless-language-9781250758149","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}