Out of the Telemachy, books 1 to 4, the story shifts to that man of woe, the "self-consumer of his woes", Odysseus himself. In book 5, the reader meets Odysseus before his own son does, and Paul &Jay guide through the initial glimpses of that hero, first seen in tears, crying on the beach. It is a surprising story in nearly every way, complex too, so we hope that you will join us in the discovery of Odysseus as he first appears in text with his name on it.
Paul starts off the episode with an poem by the 19th century Romantic, John Clare -- "I Am", a poem that Odysseus himself might have etched on to a tree trunk, on Calypso's paradise island.
Follow along in your own copy of the Odyssey. We recommend especially the Emily Wilson translation and the Fitzgerald translation.
