Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321) was a Florentine poet and author of La Vita Nuova and the sweeping Divine Comedy, one of the greatest epic poems of all time. He was broadly educated in Classical authors, regional contemporary poetry, and the theological disputations of his day. Active in Florentine politics, he was exiled from Florence and wrote his greatest poetry in the vernacular.

In October 2025, Jason Baxter, the Executive Director of the Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College, gave this lecture entitled “Can Poetry Save the World? Dante’s Incarnational Poetics” at Belmont Abbey College.

In this edition of Conversatio, host Julia Long discusses the role of Dante in fostering friendship with Prof. Elisa Torres Neff and her brother, Fr. Jonathan Torres.

https://belmontabbeycollege.edu/podcast/dantes-divine-comedy-friendship/#transcript

Preferred Translations:

Dante, Inferno, trans. Anthony Esolen (New York: Modern Library, 2003).
Dante, Purgatario, trans. Anthony Esolen (New York: Modern Library, 2004).
Dante, Paradiso, trans. Anthony Esolen (New York: Modern Library, 2007).

Insightful Secondary Literature:

Jason M. Baxter, A Beginner’s Guide to Dante (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2018).
Alice Curtayne, A Recall to Dante (Providence: Cluny Media, 2025).

Useful External Links:

Catholic Courses: Dante’s Inferno
Catholic Courses: Dante’s Purgatorio
Catholic Courses: Dante’s Paradise
The Catholic Thing Courses: Dante’s Inferno
The Catholic Thing Courses: Dante’s Purgatorio
The Catholic Thing Courses: Dante’s Paradiso