__NOTOC__ Allen Mandelbaum (May 4, 1926 – October 27, 2011) was an American professor of literature and the humanities, poet, and translator from Classical Greek, Latin and Italian. His translations of classic works gained him numerous awards in Italy and the United States.

Early life and education

He was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

in 1926 and at age 13 moved with his family to Manhattan. After beginning his higher education at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, he studied English and comparative literature at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, receiving his master's degree in 1946 and his doctorate in 1951. He then spent 15 years in Italy."Allen Mandelbaum, Translator of ''Divine Comedy'', Dies at 85"
William Grimes. ''The New York Times'', November 5, 2011.

Academic career

He taught English and comparative literature at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York from 1966 to 1986 and served as executive officer of the Ph.D. Program in English from 1972 to 1980. In 1989 he was named the W. R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Humanities at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

Translations

His translation of the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

'' appeared between 1980 and 1984; they were published by the

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

and supported by the notable Dante scholar Irma Brandeis. He subsequently acted as general editor of the ''California Lectura Dantis'', a collection of essays on the ''Comedy''; two volumes, on the ''Inferno'' and ''Purgatorio'', have been published. Mandelbaum received the 1973

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

in category Translation for

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

''."National Book Awards – 1973"
National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
There was a "Translation" award from 1967 to 1983. In 2000, Mandelbaum traveled to Florence, Italy, for the 735th anniversary of Dante's birth, and was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor of the City of Florence for his translation of the ''Divine Comedy''. In 2003, he was awarded The Presidential Prize for Translation from the President of Italy, and received Italy's highest award, the Presidential Cross of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity.

Awards

* 1973:

for translation * 2000: City of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Gold Medal of Honor * 2003: Italian Presidential Prize for Translation * 2003: Italian Presidential Cross of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity * Order of Merit from the Republic of Italy * Premio Mondello * Premio Leonardo * Premio Biella * Premio Lerici-Pea * Premio Montale at the Montale Centenary in Rome * Circe-Sabaudia Award

Death and legacy

He died in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

in 2011. His nephew was author

Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (February 3, 1947 – April 30, 2024) was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ' ...

Published works

Verse

*''Journeyman'' *''Leaves of Absence'' *''Chelmaxioms: the maxims, axioms, maxioms of Chelm'' (1977) *:''Chelmaxioms'' treats the Wise Men of Chelm less as fools than as an "echt Chelm" of true scholars who in their narrow specialized knowledge are nonetheless knowledgeable but lacking sense. The poetry of ''Chelmaxioms'' is supposedly coming from the discovered lost manuscripts of the wise men of Chelm. *:A stanza from ''Chelmaxioms'' was used for the chorus in the 2006 composition "Shofar: an oratorio for soprano, tenor, two bass-baritones, chorus and orchestra" by Catherine Madsen and Robert Stern.Shofar: an oratorio for soprano, tenor, two bass-baritones, chorus and orchestra.
/ref> *''A Lied of Letterpress for Moser and McGrath'' (1980) *''The Savantasse of Montparnasse''

Translations

Classics

* * *''Ovid's Metamorphoses'' * * *

Contemporary Italian poetry

*''The Selected Writings of Salvatore Quasimodo'' (1960) *

Edited work

* *

References

External links

Irma Brandeis' defense
of Mandelbaum's translation of the ''Divine Comedy''

at

World of Dante
multimedia site which includes Italian text and Mandelbaum's translation of the Divine Comedy, a gallery, music, maps, timeline and searchable database {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandelbaum, Allen 1926 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American Jews National Book Award winners Writers from Albany, New York Wake Forest University faculty American male poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American translators 20th-century American male writers Translators of Homer Translators of Virgil Translators of Dante Alighieri Yeshiva University alumni 21st-century American Jews