Living with a Dead Language

April 4, 2016
Patty, a former Crown executive editor and the founder of Poseidon Press, vivaciously recounts her embrace of Latin and the manifold ways it reshaped her life. The story begins with her retiring from publishing and moving to a country house in upstate New York. However, Patty found it hard to relax and felt anxious about how she was going to fill her time. She decided to take a college course in Latin—a subject she last studied in the seventh grade—and ended up taking 12 courses. After some research, Patty found a beginning class at Vassar College and threw herself into her studies with passion. Hers is not a story of easy success—she becomes anxious and angry with herself when she fails to grasp a concept or translate a sentence correctly—but Patty’s love of language and desire to stave off ennui bolster her through six years. She eventually translates the poetry of, among other writers, Catullus and Ovid, discovering how the latter “makes Latin dance.” This captivating and charming memoir shows how the study of Latin can be “another form of meditation... another way of slowing down.” Agent: Meg Ruley, Janet Rotrosen Agency.

July 1, 2016

After an illustrious career in publishing, discovering authors such as V.C. Andrews, Patty retired to the country and, realizing she needed to keep her mind active, embarked on a quest to learn Latin. She tackled this as doggedly as anyone could, over a five-year period, taking classes at Vassar College and Bard College, eventually enlisting in immersion weekends and study abroad (in Rome, no less). Along the way, readers who love language and words are treated to a minute dissection of the grammar, use, and history of Latin. Those confused by noun declensions or harassed by tenses might gloss over those parts. For true philologists, this will be like nectar to bees. Patty mixes her language study with snippets of memoir; her desire to learn Latin rooted in memories of her mother. This highly personal story includes fascinating bits about the inner workings of publishing and religion and meditation practices. VERDICT A solid addition to collections that see heavy use in the language reference or memoir categories.--Linda White, Maplewood, MN

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