Ion

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 24 JUN 1996

Imagine a Big Bang theory of drama where all stories are expansive retellings of a small, explosive canon of ancient tales. Ion is one particle of such a central core. Written about 2400 years ago and translated here in verse as effective as it is simple, this story of rape, infertility, palimony and divine intervention has cast its influence upon the ages. The title character, a naive servant boy of Apollo, is carried along by the same irony-tinged optimism that inspires Voltaire's Candide. And when the grieving mother, Kreousa, says of her only child, "He's dead, exposed to wild beasts," it is no mistake to remember Meryl Streep in A Cry in the Dark, bemoaning, "Dingoes ate my baby." The text is supported by keen annotations. A comprehensive introduction by Peter Burian explores major themes and structures, most notably, the paradox of autochthony (being born literally of the earth), and the unorthodox commingling of comic and tragic elements in a far-reaching recipe that is as easily found in King Lear as in All in the Family. FYI: DiPiero was recently awarded the first Raiziss/dePalchi Book Prize for his translation (from the Italian) of Strange Joy: Selected Poems of Sandro Penna.