Epic of the Dispossessed: Derek Walcott's Omeros

Rating:
Summary: Help from Hamner
Review: Although Derek Walcott's Caribbean meditation on Homer's Odyssey stands by itself as an eloquent and thrilling work of epic poetry, to read it without a helping hand--or book--is to miss many of its riches. In accessible language (no unintelligible academic posturing here), Hamner reveals the allusions and untangles the threads: Homer, history of St. Lucia, Walcott's autobiographical allusions, etc. It can be used while one is reading the poem, or skimmed afterward. (It took me a day.) Either way, it's excellent and readable support.