Mary Jo Bang, Paradiso (2025)

“Mary Jo Bang’s translation of Paradiso completes her groundbreaking new version of Dante’s masterpiece, begun with Inferno and continued with Purgatorio. In Paradiso, Dante has been purified by his climb up the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory, and now, led by the luminous Beatrice, he begins his ascent through the nine celestial spheres of heaven toward the Empyrean, the mind of God. Along the way, we meet the souls of the blessed—those at various proximities to God, but all existing within the bliss of heaven’s perfect order. Philosophically rich, spiritually resonant, Paradiso is a reckoning with justice and morality from a time of ethical questioning and political division much like our own.

“Bang’s translation is a revelation in its artistry, readability, and faithfulness to Dante’s ambition for an epic poem that dares to employ language and references recognizable to its readers. In her lyric style and her illuminating and generous notes, Bang has made The Divine Comedy for the twenty-first century.”    —Graywolf Press

“Poet Mary Jo Bang has spent the last two decades translating the three parts of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Paradiso is the final installment and continues her style of lively, lyrical translation.

“What makes a poem more than 700 years old feel relevant today? The poet Mary Jo Bang is uniquely qualified to answer that question because she has spent the last 20 years translating Dante’s Divine Comedy, that famous trilogy of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. These new translations are lively, contemporary and casual. Langston Hughes and Elton John make appearances. She references The Simpsons and Edward Snowden.”    —Ari Shapiro, “Poet Mary Jo Bang reaches the end of her 20-year journey through Dante’s Divine Comedy,” NPR (July 10, 2025)

Listen to the whole interview with Mary Jo Bang on NPR.

Related Sighting

Mary Jo Bang, Purgatorio (2021)