Students can hear a dramatic reading from a critically-acclaimed translator of Greek poetry today.

Stanley Lombardo, who has performed his translations on college campuses nationwide, will read from his versions of Homer’s Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno today at 4 p.m. in the Chapel.

“I usually use a drum,” during a performance, Lombardo said Wednesday by e-mail.

Lombardo is a member of the University of Kansas classics faculty.

His past venues include the Smithsonian Institution, C-SPAN and National Public Radio. The readings will be in English, but may include some of the original language as well, Lombardo said.

On Friday Lombardo will hold an informal discussion on his approach to translation. He said he tries to go beyond the words to the mind.

“‘Locking eyebrows with the masters of old’ to put in Zen terms, to re-imagine the voice of the original poet as my own voice,” Lombardo wrote.

“As do all great works of art, classical poetry such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno have an immediate, timeless and universal appeal. They point directly to the human heart-mind,” Lombardo wrote.

His published translations of Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey were reviewed by the New York Times, according to University of Kansas’s classics faculty Web site.

They are currently available as audio books on iTunes and as DVDs.

Friday’s discussion will be at 12:15 p.m. in room 250 at the Student Learning Center.