The Odyssey at Nieuw Dakota
Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 14, 2018
Produced in collaboration with EllinikoThεatro and visual artist Giorgos Gripeos, this innovative reading took place in the context of a multi-faceted art installation about our migratory times and their effect on human relationships.
The Odyssey at Athens Concert Hall
Athens, Greece, September 23-24, 2017
Offered under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and in collaboration with Megaro Musikis (Athens Concert Hall) and Elliniko Theatro, this enormously special reading was dedicated to the contemporary odyssey of refugees and displaced persons.
The Odyssey at Tehran City Theater
Tehran, Iran, January 23-26, 2017
The Readers were honored to partner with the Greek Embassy and EllinikoTheatro in this extraordinary program at the City Theater in Tehran. Presented as part of the 35th Fadjr International Theatre Festival, our reading of the Odyssey was paired with a series of academic lectures and seminars on Homer, the Odyssey, and resonant related themes.
Our Odyssey: A Reading of Homer's Epic By the People and For the People
Los Angeles, California, October 25, 2014
The Readers of Homer was pleased to partner with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Public Library in offering a marathon reading of the Odyssey at the downtown Central Library on October 25. The reading was part of the L.A. Odyssey Project, the Library Foundation's month-long celebration of the poem. Throughout the month of October, cultural events and educational programs explored the contemporary relevance of the poem in literature, history, science and the humanities.
The Iliad at Les Halles de Schaerbeek
Brussels, Belgium, June 28, 2014
The Readers were honored to participate in the third and final year of the fundraiser 12 heures pour la Grece. From 2012-2014, this milestone program raised funds for NGOs providing assistance and support to those affected by the economic crisis in Greece. The 2014 program included lectures, dance and music performances, workshops, and more in celebration of Hellenic culture and its contribution to our common heritage. Our reading of the Iliad anchored the festival, with 200 participants joining together to revive and renew this monument of Greek culture.
A Journey Home at Los Angeles Central Library
Los Angeles, California, October 29, 2013; February 20, 2014; and May 27, 2014
The Readers of Homer partnered with artworxLA and the Los Angeles Public Library on an educational program for at-risk high school students during the 2013-2014 school year. 500 students in LA’s continuation high schools worked with professional artists on creative projects that explored the poetry and themes of Homer’s Odyssey. This project was part of artworxLA’s ladder program using the arts to combat the high school drop-out crisis.
The Iliad at the Portland Art Museum
Portland, Oregon, December 2, 2012
In collaboration with the Portland Art Museum, The Readers produced a reading of the Iliad to accompany The Body Beautiful, an exhibition of Greek art from the British Museum. The text featured translation by Robert Fitzgerald, Alexander Pope, and Christopher Logue. Thomas Dietzel and eurhapsodoi provided musical intepretation, including rap in Homeric Greek. Over 200 members of the Portland Community participated in the ten-hour reading.
The Iliad at the Hellenic Centre
London, England, July 21, 2012
At the invitation of the Hellenic Centre, The Readers mounted a reading of the Iliad in honor of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The event accompanied The First Modern Olympics, Athens 1896, an exhibition of historical photographs at The Centre. The text celebrated the unique British contribution to Homer translation, drawing on the work of Alexander Pope, Robert Fitzgerald and Christopher Logue. The esoteric ensemble Daemonia Nymphe provided music.
The Odyssey at Fairytale Town
Sacramento, California, June 22, 2012
In Summer 2012, The Readers returned to its roots with an all-night outdoors reading of the Odyssey. Held under the stars in Sacramento’s beautiful William Land Park, the reading was produced in partnership with Fairytale Town and brought nearly 200 participants together to read and hear Homer.
The Odyssey at Les Halles de Schaerbeek
Brussels, Belgium, May 16, 2012
In partnership with Elliniko Theatro, The Readers had the honor to participate in the 2012 fundraiser 12 heures pour la Grece. This important event raised funds for NGO’s providing assistance and support to those affected by the Greek crisis. It also sent a powerful message in support of the human values represented by Greece, values we hold collectively as our common heritage.
The Iliad at the Getty Villa
Los Angeles, California, April 30, 2011
In 2011 The Readers collaborated with the J. Paul Getty Museum to mount a reading of the Iliad at the Getty Villa. Modeled on the Villa dei Papyri, a first-century Roman summer home in the ancient town of Herculaneum, and housing the Museum’s antiquities collection, the Villa offered an ideal location for a reading. We were honored to host Stanley Lombardo, whose acclaimed translation of the Iliad was used as our text.
The Odyssey at 92nd Street Y
New York, New York, November 27-28, 2010
The Readers returned to Manhattan in 2010 for this all-night reading of the Odyssey at the Kaufman Concert Hall of 92nd Street Y, accompanied by musical and dance performances. Over 200 readers joined together to read Stanley Lombardo’s translation. The historical music group LyrAvlos performed interpretations of ancient Greek music on instruments reconstructed from antiquity.
The Odyssey at the Castle of St. John
Kos, Greece, August 7-8, 2010
In the summer of 2010 The Readers joined the Hippokratia festival on the island of Kos, Greece, for a celebration of Homer. Events included film screenings, lectures, readings, music and theater performances, highlighted by an all-night reading of the Odyssey. Held in the ruins of the 14th-century Castle of the Knights of St. John, above the harbor of the ancient city, over 200 participants greeted rosy-fingered dawn after a magical night of poetry.
Jornadas Homericas
Montevideo, Uruguay, May 14-22, 2010
In partnership with the Maria Tsakos Foundation of Uruguay, The Readers organized a week-long celebration of Homer and Hellenic culture that included lectures, seminars and round table discussions, film screenings and art exhibitions, and performances of music, theater, and dance. Marathon readings of both the Iliad and the Odyssey anchored the celebration, and featured public school students among the over 500 participant readers.
The Iliad and the Odyssey at the Daskalopetra
Chios, Greece, August, 2007, 2008 and 2009
For three summers, The Readers joined the Festival of Homer on Chios, Greece. Readings of the Iliad and the Odyssey were held at the Daskalopetra (Teacher’s Rock), where according to legend Homer first sang his poems.
The Iliad at the Library of Alexandria
Alexandria, Egypt, October 21, 2008
In partnership with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Readers brought the Iliad to this reborn institution of classical learning in Alexandria, Egypt. This extraordinary reading highlighted Ahmad Etman’s edited Arabic translation of the poem, and was accompanied by a performance of epic poetry from the Arabic tradition by the renowned oral poet Sayed el-Dawi.
The Iliad at the Dahesh Museum of Art
New York, New York, January 14, 2006
The Readers were invited to stage a reading of the Iliad at the Dahesh Museum of Art in connection with the exhibition, The Legacy of Homer: Four Centuries of Art from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Two hundred participants joined this twelve-hour, all-day reading that featured Robert Fagles’ celebrated translation.
The Iliad and the Odyssey at the Orensanz Foundation for the Arts
New York, New York, October 24, 2004 and April 1, 2005
In 2004, the Readers premiered in New York City with a twelve-hour, all-night reading of the Iliad at the Orensanz Foundation for the Arts (now the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts). We returned the following year with the Odyssey, again in a special all-night format, using Rodney Merrill’s lyrical translation.
The Iliad and the Odyssey at Gibson Ranch
Sacramento, California, 1998 and 1999
The inaugural readings at Gibson Ranch in Sacramento were rustic, all-night affairs. Participants came with sleeping bags, flashlights, and copies of Richard Lattimore’s translations, settling in for the long magic of a night of poetry. It was here that Readers founder Prof. Kathryn Hohlwein first established the two guiding instructions to readers: do not apologize and do not comment.