“The title of the first Throwing Muses record in a decade is Purgatory/Paradise, but frontwoman Kristin Hersh has another name for it. ‘Our pet name is Precious/Pretentious,’ she says with a laugh. Speaking from Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, where she was raised, she says that while the title does not reference Dante – it’s actually a reference to an intersection of roads on the island – she’s happy to have escaped the inferno of making the album. ‘It took us five years to make this record and we are absolutely obsessed with it,’ she tells Rolling Stone.” [. . .] –Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, November 29, 2013
Roberta Delaney, “Translations and Transformations”
“‘Translations and Transformations’ is a journey with two destinations: Dante’s and mine. Dante’s Divine Comedy was written at in the early 14th century, in Italian, and in verse. He is the narrator and main character. Since 1812 when it was first translated into English, this long poem of 100 Cantos has been translated continuously just in English. Dante’s journey takes us down into the many levels of the Inferno (the Pope is next to Satan); we leave the Inferno climb a mountain out of Purgatory leading to Paradise. Dante has completed his journey and returns to earth, content.
I have also completed my journey. The Divine Comedy is still being translated because within the poem’s tight geometric structure, Dante has exposed the flaws of human nature. He was a Catholic, but highly critical of the clergy. In the wider sense, pride is still with us as is greed. This is a universal work of art that resonates in today’s living language and, fortunately via translators, for future generations.
There are twenty-six etchings in ‘Translations and Transformations’, it is bound and all the text is letterpress printed. The Italian text is printed in light gray, the English translations in black. Open, the size is 13″high X 37”wide.” —Roberta Delaney
Seymour Chwast’s Adaptation of Dante’s Divine Comedy (2010)
“‘I, Dante, will tell you the story of my trip to the after world… but will I come back?’ So begins Seymour Chwast’s noirish graphic adaptation of what is perhaps the world’s most famous tale of spiritual tourism, the Divine Comedy. The list of artists who have tried their hand at visually interpreting Dante’s epic is both long and distinguished, but it would be safe to say that Chwast, a co-founder of Push Pin Studios and a longtime contributor to The New Yorker, may have had the most fun with the subject since Dante himself. . .
The book is more than an original take on Dante, though. It also represents Chwast’s fresh take on the graphic novel. Chwast eschews the expected rhythm of comic panels in favor of stunning drawings that leap and tumble all over the page. One of my favorite moments is a glorious two-page spread depicting the Emperor Justinian and a chorus line of flappers and vaudeville performers as they dance a welcome to Dante (and us) across a divine expanse. Justinian, of course, is dressed to the heavenly nines in a nineteen-thirties-style pinstripe suit, vest, and bow tie, and is sporting what one can only assume is his trademark pencil mustache.” –Jordan Awan, The New Yorker, November 15, 2010
Supernatural on the CW
In a 2010 episode of the TV show Supernatural, the alpha vampire makes a reference to Dante citing the very real location of Purgatory. The vampire says that the King of Hell is looking for this place because it is where the souls of vampires, and other creatures, go when they die; and he is also interested in it because of its proximity to heaven. –Taylor Beaver
See the article by Sandra Gonzalez in Entertainment Weekly, November 6, 2010
Contributed by Taylor Beaver (University of Texas at Austin, ’11)
Season 5, Episode 10 of Supernatural, is titled “Abandon All Hope. . .” and aired in 2009.
Contributed by Stella Mattioli, University of Virginia, ’15
Purgatory Pizza, Chicago, IL
“A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN Is there pizza in the afterlife? Chris Peckat doesn’t pretend to know. But he does have a pretty strong hunch there’s pizza in purgatory–two types, actually. At Purgatory Pizza, he’ll be serving both a thin cracker-crust (made with Pabst Blue Ribbon) and a thicker pan crust (which he won’t deem deep dish), both of which will be topped with a blend of six cheeses. Situated next to Peckat’s barbecue-and-pinup-girls joint, Risque, Purgatory has been decked out with references to Dante’s Divine Comedy; Peckat has painted the floor of the place to look like hell and the ceiling to look like heaven. ‘I thought it was a fun theme to go with,’ he says. We’re not sure what’s so fun about death and hell, but as long as there’s pizza involved, we won’t complain.” –David Tamarkin, Time Out Chicago, April 1, 2008
Contributed by Charlie Russell-Schlesinger (Bowdoin, ’08)
