Video chat: Mark Usher on Cynicism and how to say NO

Episode 6 of "Meet the Greco-Romans"

Welcome to the sixth of an occasional series of video chats with authors and translators who have written about the philosophy, culture, and history of the Greco-Roman tradition.

In this episode I talk to Mark Usher, the Lyman-Roberts Professor of Classical Languages and Literature at the University of Vermont. Mark specializes in the ancient Mediterranean world, particularly the languages, literatures, and cultures of Greece and Rome. His interests include orality studies, ancient ecologies, and ancient philosophy. Mark is also deeply interested in the reception of classical texts in modern works of art, music, and literature. His book, Plato’s Pigs and Other Ruminations: Ancient Guides to Living with Nature (Cambridge University Press, 2020) traces modern ideas about sustainability and systems science back to their origins in antiquity, on which topic he also teaches a course: “Sustainability: A Cultural History.”

In addition to publishing books and articles about the ancient world, Mark has written two opera libretti and children’s books. His non-academic pursuits include carpentry (he built his own house and outbuildings) and farming (he and his wife Caroline own and operate Works & Days Farm in Shoreham, where they produce lamb, eggs, and maple syrup on 125 acres).

The conversion focuses on Mark’s How to Say No, An Ancient Guide to Cynicism, which I have written about here at Figs in Winter. Mark has also translated How to Be a Farmer, a collection of writings by Hesiod, Plato, Lucretius, Virgil, Horace, Musonius Rufus, and others. I have written about that too