Tolles Lecture Series brings acclaimed author Anne Carson for staged reading of Antigonick
September 29, 2016“Dear Antigone, I take it as the task of the translator to forbid that you should ever lose your screams,” Canadian poet, essayist, and translator Anne Carson said to close her introduction of Hamilton’s staged reading of Antigonick. Carson’s translation of Sophocles’ tragedy abouta woman’s choice to break state law in order to honor her dead brother began as a commission for Dutch director Ivo van Hove. The director refused to work with her version and asked that she rewrite it, claiming that Antigonick wasn’t faithful enough to the original text. It’s easy to understand why Carson’s translation seems to diverge from the ancient Greek original. Carson’s Kreon is reminiscent of a preening popstar; her Antigone could bring her passionate speeches from the throne room of ancient Thebes into the streets of modern day Chicago, New York or Atlanta and not miss a beat. The snappy dialogue sneaks in references to people who lived centuries after it was written, from Hegel to Virginia Woolf to Bertolt Brecht, who famously produced a version of the play where Antigone wore a door on her back. More ...
