Description

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Purgatorio is a first person narration of Dante's travels through Hell, but at a deeper level it represents allegorically the soul's journey towards God. At this deeper level, Dante draws on medieval Christian theology and philosophy. A powerful work of art that has stood the test of time. This is the brilliant Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation that placed Dante in his proper place in the English speaking world.

About the Author

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W. S. Merwin has authored dozens of books of poetry, prose, and works in translation. A beloved voice in American literature with steadfast commitments to environmentalist and anti-imperialist causes, Merwin is a former U.S. Poet Laureate and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Carrier of Ladders (1971) and The Shadow of Sirius (2009). His most recent volume is Garden Time (2016). Merwin has lived in Hawaii since 1976, where he and his wife restored the barren land of a former pineapple plantation into a haven for endangered palm species. In 2010, The Merwin Conservancy was founded to preserve Merwin's literary legacy, home, and palm forest and to serve as a retreat and study for the arts, environmental advocacy, and community education. Merwin has been recognized and awarded numerous prizes throughout his career, including fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, Guggenheim Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts.