Cambridge University Press recently published a new review of Et Cetera in the British Journal for Classics Teaching!
Thank you so much to Dr. Rick LaFleur for his kind words.
You’ll enjoy this slender volume yourself, whether a novice or
Richard A. LaFleur, Cambridge University Press
veteran Latinist, and it would make a lovely gift for a family
member or friend interested in the wisdom of the ancients, as
viewed through this creative young author’s fresh, modern lens.
Head to the Cambridge University Press website to access an open-source copy and read the full review!
Some reflections
I’m so thrilled to share that ET CETERA has been reviewed in the Cambridge University Press ‘British Journal of Classics Teaching’ by Dr. Rick LaFleur, who, if you’re a former high school Latin student, you may recognize as a contributor to the Wheelock’s Latin textbook.
It has been almost a full year since ET CETERA was released, and as you may have deduced, many feelings surround it…
These are some of the questions I’ve asked myself over the past three years of working on it:
- am I too young to write nonfiction?
- will anyone take this seriously?
- what kind of career do I want to have?
- what is the difference between pop history and public scholarship, and where do I sit?
- (I wish I had gone to my Latin classes because why is Petronius using the dative in this way)
Public scholarship and academia
Being reviewed in an academic journal hits on all those doubts. Lots of academics talk about the value of public scholarship, but being explicitly told that you are part of the conversation is an entirely different beast! Being a part of the conversation and being deeply understood… a rarity!
Whenever I get asked questions about why I wrote the book, I can tend to have some flippant answers… usually, I leave it at “for money, lol”
But if i’m earnest, i wrote it because i was so frustrated with the common view of Romans as brutish, boring, belligerent. They are all of those things, sure, but is anyone ever just THAT? I wanted ET CETERA to feel intimate, warm, close. (Thank you to Marta Bertello for hitting that nail on the head with the illustrations.) You only get to love real people by seeing their good with their evil. Wholeness. (I have been called hippy-dippy multiple times for this sentiment.)
But this is why I appreciate Dr. LaFleur’s words so much:
“…Nothing else they would ever study would be more valuable to them than this ‘love of language’, thoughtfully wrought to express our most human, and humane, endeavours. Clearly Lee-Chin and Bertello share this objective of teaching and learning.”
Remember that you can purchase a copy of Et Cetera for yourself at any retailer – links are gathered on my website here.
