Horace and Me

A deeply personal story of one man's life-long obsession with an ancient poet, and an exploration of what Horace's thoughts on life, leisure and love can teach us today'A moving memoir that shakes the dust off Horace – and restores him to his rightful berth among the immortals' Harry Mount, author of Amo, Amas, Amat...'Delightful ... Its seductive interweaving of a modern life and an ancient one will encourage a wider readership of this most appealing of Latin writers, even if only in translation' EconomistHorace lived at a pivotal moment. Rome was facing a profound crisis: though it ruled the world, the values which had made it great were disintegrating. As efficiency and pragmatism became watchwords, Horace championed the ‘supremely useless’ endeavour of poetry, and glorified friendship and wine.Horace and Me charts Harry Eyres’ evolving relationship with the Latin poet to show how, in an era of affluence and excess which seems to be hurtling out of control, Horace can help us navigate our way in uncertain times.

A moving memoir that shakes the dust off Horace – and restores him to his rightful berth among the immortals, One of the very best kinds of “How to” books ... Anyone holidaying this year in the old classical Mediterranean should take Horace and Me with them, along with a good copy of Horace’s own poetry, An appealing guide to life, ancient and modern ... Eyres has a taste for Horace’s wine as well as an ear for the vigorous Latin with which it is evoked. In Horace and Me, he blends these with memoir to create a paean to Horace and a polemic for the wise life, and for classical literature in general ... He makes Horace very appealing: a paunchy, sociable man ... Eyres’s take on Horace is enlightening, and best of all he provides his own witty, exuberantly updated translations of the verses ... Keeps Horace surprising and fresh. It sends the reader to the original – not for a more conventional translation but for a long sip of the Latin, which Eyres makes clear we cannot do without whether we can spout it magnificently on a Cretan mountain or not, Delightful ... Its seductive interweaving of a modern life and an ancient one will encourage a wider readership of this most appealing of Latin writers, even if only in translation, As a man of letters, learning and light-heartedness, Harry Eyres is rather a rarity these days

Harry Eyres has been a theatre critic, wine writer, poetry editor and is currently the author of the ‘Slow Lane’ column in the Financial Times. He is a poet and gives regular poetry readings at venues such as the Poetry Café in London and has contributed to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is the author of a collection of poetry, Hotel Eliseo, and of the Beginner’s Guide to Plato’s The Republic, Wine Dynasties of Europe, The Viking Guide to Cabernet Sauvignon Wines and the Which? Wine Guide 1995/6. He lives in London.