When this groundbreaking, serialized dramatization premiered on 320 US radio stations, critics were unanimous in their praise, and it won numerous honors, including the George Foster Peabody Award, the Pulitzer Prize of broadcasting. Now twenty years after its first airing, Blackstone Audio is pleased to present this outstanding production.
The 2,600-year-old poem tells of a man, a hero of cunning rather than brawn, who inhabits three worlds: first, the world of his own reality—his wife, his son, his home; secondly, the world of myth in which gods and demigods sport and battle; finally, the world of sorcerers and monsters, of magic and ghosts and unspeakable terrors. The exploration and interweaving of these three worlds contribute significantly to the delight that The Odyssey’s audience has experienced throughout the ages.
Synopsis of Episodes:
The Suitors of Penelope
Commentary by Richard Posner, professor, law and government, University of Chicago
The Voyage of Telemachus
Commentary by Charles Bye, visiting professor, University of Athens
Free at Last
Commentary by Arthur Adkins and Wendy O’Flaherty, University of Chicago, and Gregory Nagy, Harvard University
The Great Wanderings
Commentary by Wendy O’Flaherty, University of Chicago
Monsters of the Sea
Commentary by Arthur Adkins, University of Chicago
The Swineherd’s Hut
Commentary by Arthur Adkins, University of Chicago
A Beggar’s Homecoming
Commentary by Eric Hamp, University of Chicago
The Contest of the Bow
Commentary by Albert Lord, Harvard University
Program host: Edward Asner
Cast:
Irene Worth, Shepperd Strudwick, Barry Morse, John Glover, James Deuter, Eloise Kummer, David Mink, Ron Parady, Robert Scogin, Megan McTavish, Tony Mockus, Francis Guinan, Michael Rider, Jordean Culbert, Ward Ohrman
Scholar Advisors:
Peter Arnott, Tufts University; Jarl Dyrud, University of Chicago; Peter Green, University of Texas at Austin; Albert B. Lord, Harvard University; James M. Redfield, University of Chicago; and D. Nicholas Rudall, (chair) University of Chicago
Announcer: John Doremus
Made possible in part by grants from TRW and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Download and start listening now!
“The adaptation and writing are superb, the sound effects and music are layered in subtly and effectively, and the fine acting humanizes a challenging classic. To conclude each episode, scholars add discussion and insights that remove cultural barriers to a fuller appreciation…A rare and wonderful blend of storytelling, drama, and learning…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
—
AudioFile