The authors of books being considered for the McKay Prize must be members of the Vergilian Society at the time their books are submitted.

A copy of each book to be considered, and an email listing any book sent, should be sent to both members of the prize evaluation committee by October 30. Copies may be submitted in the traditional book form, or preferably in digital form. For the addresses of the prize evaluation committee members and for any questions about the competition, please contact the Vergilian Society President, Professor Zara Torlone <torlonzm@MiamiOH.edu>

The post McKay Book Prize Nominations appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

Virgil’s canonical status has entangled him in the moral, political, and critical judgments of readers. We can see this phenomenon from the beginning of the biographical tradition: his disputed self-censorship of the end of the Georgics; his alleged request to burn the Aeneid; the emperor Caligula’s threat to burn Virgil’s poems and imagines (nullius ingenii minimaeque doctrinae, Calig. 34). We therefore propose a symposium that focuses on Virgil and censorship, tracing the history of how readers shape his poetry to reflect their own expectations. See more

The post Call for Papers: Symposium Cumanum 2027 appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

The Vergilian Society seeks proposals for its annual Symposium Vesuvianum to take place at the Villa Vergiliana in Cuma, Italy in October 2027. The Symposium may focus on any aspect of the history, archaeology, art and architecture, and geology of Italy and Sicily from remotest antiquity to the Renaissance.

We will consider a proposal on any theme, although preference may be given to a subject that has not been treated recently. Descriptions of previous symposia can be found on the Vergilian Society website.

Each proposal should be prepared by the person who is intending to direct the symposium, or by the lead person if co-directors are envisioned.  The successful director will have logistical assistance from the Vergilian Society’s Italian staff and from the Executive Committee.

Proposals should be 250-300 words in length, giving a brief rationale for the theme, some thoughts on what subjects are likely to be treated, and the names of several scholars who have worked on this theme and might be approached to participate. As international meetings, our symposia attract participants from all over the world, but since the Vergilian Society is an Italian-American cultural association, we are especially interested in seeing solid participation from scholars in these two countries.

Proposals should be submitted electronically to the President of the Vergilian Society, Zara Torlone (torlonzm@miamioh.edu) by September 15, 2026.  Informal inquiries are also welcome at this email address.

The post Call for Proposals: Symposium Vesuvianum 2027 appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

Congratulations to Maira Zaidi for winning the Vergilian Society’s Masciantonio Prize for Inclusive Excellence in Latin or the Classical Humanities! She is a rising senior at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, where her teacher is Jake Watson. Maira will use her $500 prize to support Latin Literacy Camps which she has organized. We are publishing Maira’s essay here. Enjoy!

The first time I told my Nani (grandmother) that Latin was my favorite subject, she looked at me, confused. “You’re studying Latin?” she asked. “Why not study Spanish or Chinese? They’re going to be more useful,” she said. While the question was not entirely unreasonable, and it might seem unexpected for someone with my background to study Latin and Classics, I have found a deeper, more meaningful connection between the Ancient Mediterranean and my South Asian-Pakistani heritage.

I chose to study Latin in middle school out of curiosity. While I expected vocabulary lists and grammar charts, I encountered an entire civilization instead. Through Latin texts, I discovered Roman history, mythology, culture, and philosophy. I learnt that Romans were not culturally isolated. Greek philosophy shaped Roman education; Etruscan and Anatolian traditions influenced Roman religion, and trade routes connected the Mediterranean to Africa, the Near East, and beyond. All this sounded surprisingly familiar. As I delved deeper, I found remarkable similarities between the Ancient Mediterranean and South Asian civilizations, as well as striking parallels in the linguistic evolution of Latin and Urdu. As a first-generation Pakistani-American, I grew up speaking Urdu at home. The language of my parents and grandparents was shaped by influences of Persian, Arabic, and other regional languages. Urdu uses the Persian alphabet and draws heavily on Farsi and Arabic, much like Latin derives its own alphabet from Etruscan and Greek roots. In essence, the Ancient Mediterranean was not a singular culture,but a case study of cultural crossroads that influenced one another through trade, education, language, and religion.

While studying Latin in school and participating in programs and competitions, I did not often see students from my cultural background represented in the field of Classics. Rather than viewing that as discouragement, I embraced it as an opportunity to become a bridge builder. I founded Acta Diurna Classics, an outreach initiative dedicated to keeping Latin and the Classics accessible and inclusive to students from diverse backgrounds. Through Paideia’s Teaching Literacy in Latin Aequora Grant, along with grants from Ascanius and Classical Association of the Atlantic States, I have organized Latin Literacy Camps for young students within both my local and South Asian communities. These camps introduce Latin and Greco-Roman history to students who might not otherwise encounter it. I also publish a daily Acta Diurna Classics Instagram gazette, a website blog, and will be hosting a forthcoming podcast featuring educators and scholars to promote interest and engagement in Classics.

Academically, I have pursued Classics with both passion and curiosity. At Sidwell Friends School, I have completed Latin I–IV and will complete Advanced Latin V in my senior year. I have been honored as a Top Award Winner on the CAMWS International Latin Translation Exam and the National Latin Exam (Summa Cum Laude, Perfect Paper, Gold Medal). This past summer, I also completed two undergraduate college-credit courses at Harvard University’s Department of Classics: Introduction to Historical Linguistics and Beginning Greek. I further deepened my Latin studies through advanced programs with the Classical Association of Scotland and the Classical Association of Ireland, and I have had the honor to conduct original research under the mentorship of Dr. Victoria Fendel at the University of Oxford.

Through my journey, the greatest lesson Classics has taught me is something much broader – that cultures are never isolated. The story of humanity from the ancient world to today is one of connection and cultural exchange. In many ways, my own life reflects those same cultural crosscurrents – a Pakistani heritage, an American upbringing, speaking Urdu at home with family, English outside with friends, and Latin in school with my classmates. Classics has helped me see that the story of human civilization has always been one of connection.

And in that story, there is room for voices like mine.

The post 2026 Masciantonio Prize Winner appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

As Giving Tuesday arrives, I want to share how much the Society has accomplished this year—and why your support matters now.

The Vergilian Society continues to do what it has always done best: create unforgettable educational experiences. Our tours bring students and high school teachers into direct contact with the ancient world, while our scholarships make this contact possible; our symposia foster collaboration across geographical and disciplinary borders; our contests reward and motivate students; and our publications extend the Society’s influence as an intellectual force in the field.

The Villa Vergiliana remains at the heart of this mission. Each year it hosts numerous visitors from a wide range of fields—Classics, archaeology, art, music, architecture, geology, and more. The Villa is not simply a place to stay; it is a catalyst for truly immersive, transformative learning.

To keep it that way, we must take care of the building responsibly and proactively. This year we completed essential work, including full balcony replacements and other urgent repairs that ensure the Villa remains safe, welcoming, and ready for the next generation of students and educators. A few generous leadership donors have already stepped forward with major gifts of $10,000 and $12,000 in support of this effort.

As we are about to conclude our Capital Campaign, we are asking you to join them so we can maintain strong financial footing—not just to address repairs, but to continue offering scholarships, supporting our symposia, and sustaining the vibrant academic programs that define the Society.

A healthy reserve is not a luxury. It is what allows us to plan confidently, respond to unexpected needs, and keep delivering the kind of hands-on educational experiences that no classroom can match.

Your Giving Tuesday gift, in any amount, helps strengthen the Society’s foundation and keeps the Villa—and all our programs—thriving.

If the Vergilian Society has contributed to your work, your teaching, or your love of the ancient world, I hope you will contribute today. Please make your donation now online.

With gratitude,

Vassiliki Panoussi
President

The post Giving Tuesday appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

JANUARY 7-10, 2027
BOSTON

Call for Papers for Panel Sponsored by the Vergilian Society

“Vergil Beyond Europe”

For decades, scholarship on the reception of Vergil has focused primarily on European contexts. As scholars and teachers of Vergil, we recognize how deeply his presence in European literatures and cultures has shaped our interpretation of his poetry. Yet Vergil’s influence has never been confined to Europe alone.

For the 2027 Annual Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies in Boston, the Vergilian Society invites proposals for papers that investigate Vergil’s reception in cultural and literary traditions beyond Europe. We are especially interested in case studies from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Slavic regions, but welcome explorations of any non-European context in which Vergil’s works have been read, adapted, or reimagined.

We hope that the papers on this panel will deepen our understanding of Vergil’s global afterlife, highlighting the diverse ways his poetry has interacted with–and interpreted by–different traditions. By tracing these encounters, we seek not only to expand the horizons of Vergilian reception studies but also to enrich the ways we read and teach Vergil today.Please send abstracts for 15-20 minute paper by February 23 to Zara Torlone (torlonzm@miamioh.edu) with the subject headings “abstract_SCS2027”. Abstracts should be 500 words or fewer (excl. bibliography) and should follow the guidelines for individual abstracts (see the SCS Guidelines for Authors of Abstracts). The abstracts will be judged anonymously and so should not reveal the author’s name, but the email should provide name, abstract title, and affiliation. Decisions will be communicated to the abstracts’ authors by the end of march, with enough time that those whose abstracts are not chosen can participate in the individual abstract submission process for the upcoming SCS meeting.

The post CFP SCS 2027: Call for Papers appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

The Vergilian Society mourns the loss of Professor Michael C. J. Putnam, who passed away on August 19, 2025, at the age of 91 at his summer home, in Maine. Michael was a Life Member and a steadfast supporter of our organization. He served on the Board of Trustees (2013–2016), on the Editorial Board of Vergilius, and was the recipient of the Alexander McKay Prize in 2009. His passing leaves an irreplaceable void in our community and in the field of classical studies.

Few scholars have done more to illuminate Virgil’s poetry and its reception than Michael Putnam. His work fundamentally reshaped the study of Latin literature, combining rigorous philology with sensitive literary interpretation. His first book, The Poetry of the Aeneid (1965), revolutionized Vergilian studies by revealing the epic’s deep ambivalence toward its own ideological message. His subsequent monograph, Virgil’s Pastoral Art: Studies in the Eclogues (1970), won the American Philological Association’s Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit. From that point forward, Michael’s voice shaped scholarship on Vergil, Horace, Tibullus, Catullus, Statius, and many others, producing some of the most nuanced readings of Roman poetry available to us today. His prolific output includes monographs, commentaries, translations, collections, and compendia, among them Tibullus: A Commentary (1973), Virgil’s Poem of the Earth (1979), Virgil’s Epic Designs: Ekphrasis in the Aeneid (1998), The Vergilian Tradition: The First Fifteen Hundred Years (with Jan Ziolkowski, 2008), Jacopo Sannazaro: The Latin Poetry (2009), The Humanness of Heroes: Studies in the Conclusion of Virgil’s Aeneid (2011), The Complete Poems of Tibullus (with Rodney Dennis, 2012), and most recently The Poetic World of Statius’ Silvae (with Antony Augoustakis and Carole Newlands, 2023). In addition, he authored countless articles and reviews whose influence has been deep and enduring.

Michael was Duncan MacMillan II Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Brown University, where he taught for forty-eight years. Generations of undergraduate and graduate students came to appreciate Latin literature thanks to his extraordinary ability to draw meaning from the text and to show its artistic and human depth. His classes at Brown were legendary: rigorous, inspiring, and unforgettable. His teaching legacy also extended far beyond Providence, as he lectured around the world, inaugurating the Amsterdam Virgil Lectures in 2009, the Townsend Lectures at Cornell (1985), and the Martin Classical Lectures at Oberlin, among many others.

Throughout his career, Michael served the profession in a remarkable range of capacities. He was Acting Director and Senior Fellow of the Center for Hellenic Studies; a Rome Prize Fellow, Resident, and Mellon Professor in Charge of the Classical School at the American Academy in Rome; President of the American Philological Association (1972); and later Trustee and Life Trustee of the American Academy in Rome, which honored him with both its Centennial Medal (2009) and Trustees’ Medal (2010). His distinctions included membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and Italy’s Accademia Nazionale Virgiliana, which awarded him its first Medaglia alla Carriera in 2024. He also received the APA’s Distinguished Service Award (2013), fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, ACLS, and NEH, and was a member at the Institute for Advanced Study and a Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholar.

Beyond the world of classics, Michael gave generously of his time and energy. He was Sole Trustee of the Lowell Observatory (1967–1987), a member of the Selections Committee of the Fogg Museum of Art at Harvard for nearly thirty years, and a Trustee of Bay Chamber Concerts for three decades. An accomplished pianist, an avid swimmer, and a lover of art and literature in all forms, Michael lived life to the fullest. His friends and colleagues remember him for his wisdom and kindness, but also for his humor, mischief, and remarkable gift for storytelling.

Michael was predeceased by his partner of more than five decades, Kenneth Gaulin. He is survived by his loving family, including his sister, Mrs. Mary (Polly) Chatfield, and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Born September 20^th, 1933, he was educated at Harvard University (A.B. and Ph.D.) before beginning his long career at Brown.

The Vergilian Society has lost a treasured colleague and friend, and we join his countless students, colleagues, and friends across the world in mourning his passing and celebrating his life, scholarship, and legacy.

The post In Memoriam: Michael C. J. Putnam appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

The post Keely Lake Memorial Translation Contest Winners 2025 appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

The post New Approches in Vergilian Studies appeared first on The Vergilian Society.

We will consider a proposal on any theme, although preference may be given to a subject that has not been treated recently. Descriptions of previous symposia can be found here.

Each proposal should be prepared by the person who is intending to direct the symposium, or by the lead person if co-directors are envisioned.  The successful director will have logistical assistance from the Vergilian Society’s Italian staff and from the Executive Committee.

Proposals should be 250-300 words in length, giving a brief rationale for the theme, some thoughts on what subjects are likely to be treated, and the names of several scholars who have worked on this theme and might be approached to participate. As international meetings, our symposia attract participants from all over the world, but since the Vergilian Society is an Italian-American cultural association, we are especially interested in seeing solid participation from scholars in these two countries.

Proposals should be submitted electronically to the President of the Vergilian Society, Vassiliki Panoussi by March 15, 2025.  Informal inquiries are also welcome at this email address.

The post Call for Proposals: Symposium Vesuvianum 2026 appeared first on The Vergilian Society.