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clitullus's review
1.0
Literally the worst Catullus textbook I have ever been forced to use, and I have learned from and taught with a lot of them.
To begin with, this textbook lacks many of the poet’s compositions, despite being as long as other textbooks containing his complete corpus. Ancona asks you to buy another volume, if you want the “dirty” ones, but even that supplement is short and shitty.
The formatting of the poems frequently impedes their reading. Vocabulary provided is often unhelpful, even when multiple definitions are provided. Notes on grammar are incredibly unclear, sometimes incoherent or misleading— multiple students were far more confused AFTER consulting the footnotes than they had been before. I could go on, but... it’s an awful textbook to learn from, and it’s incredibly frustrating to teach from (requiring you to supplement and repair). Plus, there are typos everywhere, including the cover— it just feels sloppy!
I can’t tell if the Picasso on the cover is ironic (given the painter’s notorious misogyny and abuse) or simply obtuse.
Just use a different textbook because you’re going to have to use another textbook to supplement this mess anyways. I genuinely pity and feel for the next batch of students who’ll be forced to use this text.
To begin with, this textbook lacks many of the poet’s compositions, despite being as long as other textbooks containing his complete corpus. Ancona asks you to buy another volume, if you want the “dirty” ones, but even that supplement is short and shitty.
The formatting of the poems frequently impedes their reading. Vocabulary provided is often unhelpful, even when multiple definitions are provided. Notes on grammar are incredibly unclear, sometimes incoherent or misleading— multiple students were far more confused AFTER consulting the footnotes than they had been before. I could go on, but... it’s an awful textbook to learn from, and it’s incredibly frustrating to teach from (requiring you to supplement and repair). Plus, there are typos everywhere, including the cover— it just feels sloppy!
I can’t tell if the Picasso on the cover is ironic (given the painter’s notorious misogyny and abuse) or simply obtuse.
Just use a different textbook because you’re going to have to use another textbook to supplement this mess anyways. I genuinely pity and feel for the next batch of students who’ll be forced to use this text.
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