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title: The Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory of translating Dante
description: On a recent episode of The New Yorker Poetry Podcast, poet and translator Mary Jo Bang talks about her translations of Dante’s Inferno...
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# The Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory of translating Dante

[Medical Pharmaceutical Translations](https://aiatranslations.com/blog/topic/medical-pharmaceutical-translations) • Jan 7, 2020 12:00:00 AM

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On a recent episode of The New Yorker Poetry Podcast, poet and translator Mary Jo Bang talks about her translations of Dante’s *Inferno* and her current project, a translation of his *Purgatorio*.

Bang reveals just how intriguing translating Dante is by describing what drew her in: the fact that there are over 47 translations of the first lines of the *Inferno* alone.

The reasons why, and the intricacies of translating Dante are often surprising. For example, researching and writing the footnotes necessary to understanding these works are actually what the poet finds most challenging.

Read the interview transcript or listen to the podcast [here](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/poetry/mary-jo-bang-discusses-purgatorio), to learn more about the joys and challenges of translating Dante, Bang’s translation process, medieval “sampling” , and so much more.

[*Image source*](https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-New-Translation-Dante-Alighieri/dp/1555976549/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=mary+jo+bang&qid=1578051260&sr=8-1)

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