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Erotica Romana.
A cycle of elegies celebrating love, sensuality, and the intoxication of Rome, by one of the giants of European letters. Frank, warm, and classically inspired, these poems fuse desire with the light of the ancient city.
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About this book
Written after an intoxicating sojourn in Italy, these elegies capture a great poet at his most relaxed and sensual, walking the streets of Rome by day and turning to love by night, with the ancients as his constant companions.
What it's about
Erotica Romana, better known as the Roman Elegies, is a sequence of poems that blend erotic experience with reflections on antiquity, art, and the atmosphere of Rome. Modelled on the classical love elegists, they mingle personal ardour with a scholar's affection for the ancient world.
Themes
Physical love and its joys, the living presence of the classical past, the fusion of art and desire, and the liberating effect of the south upon a northern sensibility. Candour and cultivation meet on every page.
Why it still matters
These elegies mark a moment when a major writer embraced sensuality with open delight, drawing directly on Roman models. They remain a touchstone for the poetry of love and a vivid record of one artist's Italian awakening.
Who it's for
Readers of European poetry and the classical tradition, and anyone who enjoys verse that treats love with both frankness and grace.
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Erotica Romana
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