Tony Harrison and the Classics

Tony Harrison and the Classics comprises fifteen chapters examining the lasting importance of Tony Harrison's classical education, the extent of the influence of Greek and Roman texts on his subjects, themes, and styles, his contribution to knowledge and understanding of classical literature, his popularization of classical works, and his innovative treatment of classical drama in plays which have been performed globally. Harrison's work fosters debates about the role and perception of the classics and adaptations of classical literature in relation to education, 'high' and 'popular' culture, accessibility, and reception. A unifying theme of the collection is the way in which Harrison finds in classical literature fruitful matter for the articulation and dramatization of his longstanding preoccupations: language, class, access to art, and the causes and effects of war. Through his adaptations and translations, Harrison uses classical drama to stage interventions in modern politics, but neither idealizes nor romanticizes the ancient world, depicting inequality, bigotry, greed, and brutality.

Sandie Byrne, University of Oxford

Sandie Byrne is Associate Professor in English, University of Oxford and a Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. She is the author of a number of books and articles on twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature.

1. Introduction, Sandie Byrne
2. Tony Harrison as Founder of Classical Reception Studies, Edith Hall
3. Tony Harrison and Rome, Stephen Harrison
4. Ruins and Fragments: The Impact of Material Culture on the Works of Tony Harrison, Hallie Marshall
5. recusatio from Both Directions: Tony Harrison s Gazes, Lorna Hardwick
6. The Originality and Influence of Tony Harrison s The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, Lottie Parkyn
7. Harrison s Hecubas: Translating and Performing International Activism, Geraldine Brodie
8. Illuminated by the light of the sun : Stagecraft, the Politics of Performance Conditions, and the Formation of Northern Broadsides, Helen Eastman
9. Lyres, Liars, Repetition, and Prophecy: Visiting the Future through the Past in Tony Harrison s Poetry, Romana Huk
10. Fire, Fennel, and the Future of Socialism: Tony Harrison s prometheus, Henry Stead
11. Greek Fire: Harrison s Appropriation of Some Elements from Myth, Sandie Byrne
12. The Sound of the Oresteia, Caroline Latham
13. Political Catharsisa The Example of Harrison, Paul Bentley
14. Insights from the Tony Harrison Archive, Owen Hodkinson
15. Bardcards: Tracking Tony Harrison in 1987-8, Oliver Taplin