Poems

About Sextus Propertius

Sextus Propertius (c. 55 15 BC) was an elegiac poet of the Augustan age born and raised in Umbria. Little biographical detail survives beyond what can be inferred from his poems. He published his first book of verse around 30 BC and at least three more in his lifetime. He was in the circle of the influential patron of the arts Maecenas. A successor of Catullus and rough contemporary of Vergil Ovid and Horace he is perhaps best known today through Ezra Pounds experimental `homage of 1919.; After reading Classics and Modern Languages at Merton College Oxford Patrick Worsnip worked for more than forty years as a correspondent and editor for Reuters news agency with postings in Italy Russia Poland Iran Lebanon the us and the UK. Since retiring in 2012 he has devoted himself to translation from Italian and Latin and to magazine articles on Italian poetry. He divides his time between Cambridge and Umbria Italy. He is married with one son.