To Read & To Write

“My purpose is to tell of bodies which have been transformed into shapes of a different kind... and spin an unbroken thread of verse” – from Ovid's “Metamorphoses” Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, first published in 8 AD, is sometimes considered an epic, an epic poem, mythology, legend, or even a fairy-tale or a piece of folklore. Most have agreed that this literary work defies genre. “Metamorphoses” encompasses all the literary descriptions listed above, and is essentially a world-building composition that tells over two-hundred and fifty stories of transformation – transformations of mortals and gods alike – into elements of nature such as plants, animals, and other phenomena. Ovid, born in 43 BC, is an Italian storyteller, and today, it is still a mystery as to why he died in exile from Rome. His “Metamorphoses” contains re-tellings from the Latin and Greek tradition.  For most people who read this text, a lot of names will be familiar, such as the goddess Diana, Hercules, Arachne, K...