Eataly’s Birreria, New York City
Photo contributed by Steve Bartus (Bowdoin, ’08)
Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture
Eataly’s Birreria, New York City
Photo contributed by Steve Bartus (Bowdoin, ’08)
“. . .Is there a better place for expression than art? Whether releasing anger, oozing sexuality or spilling sorrow via an artistic means or simply ingesting someone else’s version of it and laughing uproariously, a creative outlet is our healthy friend. As I sat in my Dante’s Inferno class less than 24 hours after seeing Horrible Bosses, I couldn’t help but laugh at how Dante, too, was doing just that in the 1300s–using his poetry gift to banish real people to eternal punishment in “the hurricane of Hell in perpetual motion.”
Dante doesn’t just send people to one big place called Hell, he parses according to the level of sin, whether or not they wronged him personally, and even singles some of them out for an extra dose of suffering. That it is methodical and medieval makes it all the more riveting.
The rest of us wind up rooting, projecting our own frustrations and ill will onto characters in a book or on screen. We rub our hands together and lick our chops at seeing where people eventually ‘go’ or how they’ll be categorized. In Horrible Bosses, there are sins of greed and carnal yearnings by the one-dimensional bosses, intent to murder by the average-guy employees and even an in-between — the hit man played by Jamie Foxx who steals but isn’t what he portrays himself to be.” [. . .] –Nancy Colasurdo, Fox Business, July 6, 2011
“If poet Dante Alighieri had had a daughter, and if there had been a Claire’s – the little girl accessory retailer – in Florence back then, I am sure the author of the Divine Comedy would have included the store as the tenth and final circle of Hell” […] –Lisa Gibalerio, Belmont Patch, July 5, 2011
“FOR fans of Italian cars — those with positive recollections, anyway — the high-profile introduction of the Fiat 500 to the United States this year holds the promise of a long-awaited brand renaissance. But for the 500 to be a genuine success, paving the way for a full line of European driver’s cars to follow, its appeal would have to be more durable than a pretty face and an attractive body. My quest to plumb the 500’s inner beauty recently took me on a long drive that included stops in Naples, Verona, Florence, Rome and Venice. . .
Next up, Dante’s autobahn — the New Jersey Turnpike, where treacherous merges and construction projects large enough to be seen from outer space were made all the more entertaining by an afternoon of ark-building rain. But the Fiat was absolutely composed: precise steering, no hydroplaning and brakes that grabbed more aggressively than Tony Soprano at the Bada Bing.” […] –Towle Tompkins, The New York Times, May 20, 2011
All submissions will be considered for posting. Bibliographic references and scholarly essays are also welcome for consideration.
Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante’s Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.