i was introduced to catullus while doing gcse latin, and was at once hooked. catullus was an equestrian roman living around the time of julius caesar. much of his poetry concerns a short lived relationship with someone he calls 'lesbia' - generally thought to be clodia metelli, sister of publius clodius and wife of metellus celer, but there is some contentious amongst the scholars.

he also wrote a lot of crude/bawdy poetry, both about his conquests and mocking his 'enemies'. i have never liked these... in fact, although all his work is technically interesting, most of it is pretty boring.

these six selected poems are exceptions, and what good exceptions to have! for any of you who have never done latin: being able to read these untranslated is a sufficient reason to start. it is well worth the effort.

51. this first describes 'love at first sight'
2. this is one of two poem's about lesbia's pet sparrow. it evokes well that feeling that comes when watching someone you know and love.
3. this is the second sparrow poem. it's funny.
5. this is a poem evokes the passion at the beginnings of a relationship, and is also a big 'fuck you' to the mary whitehouses of this world.
8. lesbia ended the relationship before catullus would have liked. this is him telling himself to get over it.
39. this final poem is nothing to do with lesbia - it's about a spanish fellow called egnatius...

for more poems by catullus and background information, i'd recommend reading 'catullus: the shorter poems' by john godwin.