60. War Music, by Christopher Logue
The War Music I'm nominating is the second volume by Logue with that title. It covers his retelling of Homer's Iliad books 1—4 and 16—19.
I know it is not to everyone's taste, and fans of Lattimore may despair at this suggestion, but I find the images rich and original, and the story propelled forward by the language.
I think Logue had a great time writing it, and fun is not a quality I often associate with contemporary poetry. Well, yes, the book is a raid on something very old, but the idiom is very contemporary.
When I'm dry I go back to it, and that's not something I can say for many books written in the last thirty years.
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