LA DIVINA COMMEDIA (THE DIVINE COMEDY) : Purgatorio

About the Book

This is the second book of a trilogy. Click on the links below to view the other two volumes of the trilogy.
LA DIVINA COMMEDIA (THE DIVINE COMEDY) : Inferno
LA DIVINA COMMEDIA (THE DIVINE COMEDY) : Paradiso

About the Author

Paul S. Bruckman was born in Florence, Italy and was baptized in the Baptistery of San Giovanni, just as Dante was. At an early age, he left Italy and emigrated to the U.S., but was raised in a northern Italian household, thus retaining his knowledge of the Italian language. On the maternal line was a long line of artists and artesans; his maternal grandfather was a well-known artist, musician and maker of violins. From this line, Bruckman inherited a love of classical studies, including classical mythology, history, literature, poetry and music. Bruckman graduated from the U. of Illinois in 1974 with a Master’s Degree in Mathematics. His career as a pension actuary ended with his retirement in 2001, but he remains active with various mathematical activities. Beginning around 1985, he began to translate Dante’s Divine Comedy, primarily as a labor of love. From the beginning, Bruckman intended this work to be used as an accessible source of Dante’s monumental work for English-speaking students. Due to career commitments, progress was slow at fi rst, but picked up pace after Bruckman’s retirement. The last lines of the translation of Paradiso were completed in 2010. The entire translation is intended to be appropriate for a modern, quasi-scholarly audience, and is enhanced by ample explanatory notes and supporting addenda. Bruckman is married, has 7 children and 6 grandchildren.