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Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledges across generations without a writing system.

Up to the destruction of the Temple, both Jews and Jewish Christians had strong oral traditions. These traditions became the basis for the Talmud and the Canonical gospels after the destruction of the Temple

A narrower definition of oral tradition is sometimes appropriate. In a general sense, "oral tradition" refers to the transmission of cultural material through vocal utterance, and was long held to be a key descriptor of folklore (a criterion no longer rigidly held by all folklorists). As an academic discipline, it refers both to a set of objects of study and a method by which they are studied -- the method may be called variously "oral traditional theory," "the theory of Oral-Formulaic Composition" and the "Parry-Lord theory" (after two of its founders; see below) The study of oral tradition is distinct from the academic discipline of oral history, which is the recording of personal memories and histories of those who experienced historical eras or events. It is also distinct from the study of orality, which can be defined as thought and its verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy (especially writing and print) are unfamiliar to most of the population.

Study of oral tradition

History

, (1767-1834) Serbian blind guslar]] Oral tradition as a field of study had its origins in the work of the Serb scholar Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic (1787-1864), a contemporary and friend of the Brothers Grimm. Vuk pursued similar projects of "salvage folklore" (similar to rescue archaeology) in the cognate traditions of the Southern Slavic regions which would later be gathered into Yugoslavia, and with the same admixture of romantic and nationalistic interests (he considered all those speaking Serbo-Croat as Serbs). Somewhat later, but as part of the same scholarly enterprise of nationalist studies in folklore, the turcologist Vasily Radlov (1837-1918) would study the songs of the Kara-Kirghiz in what would later become the Soviet Union; Karadzic and Radloff would provide models for the work of Parry.

Milman Parry and Albert Lord

Shortly thereafter, Milman Parry (1902-1935), pursuing a degree in Classics at the University of California, Berkeley, began to grapple with what was then called the "Homeric Question". This was usually framed as "who was Homer?" and "what are the Homeric poems?" The Homeric question actually consists of a series of related inquiries. Parry's contribution, which drew upon and synthesized the insights of previous scholars including Marcel Jousse, Matija Murko and Arnold van Gennep, was to reconsider the foundational assumptions which framed the inquiries. This re-ordering would have consequences for a great many literatures and disciplines.

Parry's work under Antoine Meillet at the Sorbonne led to his crucial insight into the "formula," which he originally defined as "a group of words which is regularly employed under the same metrical conditions to express a given essential idea." In Homeric verse, for example, phrases like eos rhododaktylos ("rosy fingered dawn") or oinops pontos ("winedark sea") occupy a certain metrical pattern that fits, in modular fashion, into the six-colon Greek hexameter, and aids the aioidos or bard in extempore composition. Moreover, phrases of this type would be subject to internal substitutions and adaptations, permitting flexibility in response to narrative and grammatical needs: podas okus Achilleus ("swift footed Achilles") is metrically equivalent to koruthaiolos Hektor ("glancing-helmed Hektor"). Parry and Lord observed that the same phenomenon was apparent in the Old English alliterative line:

:Hrothgar mathelode helm Scildinga ("Hrothgar spoke, protector of the Scildings") :Beowulf mathelode bearn Ecgtheowes ("Beowulf spoke, son of Ecgtheow")

and in the junacki deseterac (heroic decasyllable) of the demonstrably oral poetry of the Serbs:

:a besjedi od Orasca Tale ("But spoke of Orashatz Tale") :a besjedi Mujagin Halile ("But spoke Mujo's Halil")

In Parry's view, formulas were not individual and idiosyncratic devices of particular artists, but the shared inheritance of a tradition of singers. They were easily remembered, making it possible for the singer to execute an improvisational composition-in-performance. A later scholar commented on the potential for Parry's concept to be seen as disparaging of Homeric genius: "The meaning of the Greek term 'rhapsodize', rhapsoidein, 'to stitch song together' could then be taken in a negative sense: Homer stitched together pre-fabricated parts."

The idea indeed met with immediate resistance, because it seemed to make the fount of Western literary eloquence the slave of a system of clichés, but it accounted for such otherwise inexplicable features of the Homeric poems as gross anachronisms (revealed by advances in historical and archaeological knowledge), the presence of incompatible dialects, and the deployment of locally unsuitable epithets ("blameless Aegisthos" for the murderer of Agamemnon, or the almost comic use of "swift-footed Achilles" for the hero in conspicuously sedentary moments).

Griot Al-Haji Papa Susso performing songs from the oral tradition of the Gambia on the kora]] Parry was appointed to a junior professorship at Harvard, and during this time became aware of living oral traditions in the Balkan region. In two field expeditions with his young assistant Albert Lord (1912-1991) he would record thousands of songs on aluminum disks. The collection would provide the basis for an empirical documentation of the dynamics of composition of metrical narrative in traditional oral performance. This analysis included the patterns and types of variation at lexical and other levels which would yield a structural account of a work's multiformity. This phenomenon could only be accounted for in standard literary methodology by concepts of “corruption” and “distortion” of a pristine, original “ur-text” or hypothetical “lost Q" ("Quelle", German for "source"), hypothesized via stemmatology. Thus the work of Parry and Lord reduced the prominence of the historic-geographic method in folkloristics.

Parry died in 1935. His work was posthumously published by his son Adam Parry as The Making of Homeric Verse (Oxford: Clarendon, 1971). Lord, however, had meanwhile published The Singer of Tales (1960), a work which summarized both Parry's response to the Homeric Question, and the joint work he had done with Parry in the Balkans. The Parry-Lord work exercised great influence on other scholars, notably Francis P. Magoun, whose application of their model to Anglo-Saxon traditions demonstrated the explicative and problem-solving power of the theory – a process that would be repeated by other scholars in numerous independent traditions (see below).

Walter Ong

In a separate development, the media theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) would begin to focus attention on the ways that communicative media shape the nature of the content conveyed. He would serve as mentor to the Jesuit, Walter Ong (1912-2003), whose interests in cultural history, psychology and rhetoric would result in Orality and Literacy (Methuen, 1980) and the important but less-known Fighting for Life: Contest, Sexuality and Consciousness (Cornell, 1981) These two works articulated the contrasts between cultures defined by primary orality, writing, print, and the secondary orality of the electronic age. |}

Ong's works also made possible an integrated theory of oral tradition which accounted for both production of content (the chief concern of Parry-Lord theory) and its reception.

John Miles Foley

In advance of Ong’s synthesis, John Miles Foley, who studied with Robert Creed (who had in turn studied with Magoun), began a series of papers based on his own fieldwork on South Slavic oral genres, emphasizing the dynamics of performers and audiences. Foley effectively consolidated oral tradition as an academic field when he compiled Oral-Formulaic Theory and Research in 1985. The bibliography gives a summary of the progress scholars made in evaluating the oral tradition up to that point, and includes a list of all relevant scholarly articles relating to the theory of Oral-Formulaic Composition. He also both established both the journal Oral Tradition and founded the Center for Studies in Oral Tradition (1986) at the University of Missouri. Foley developed Oral Theory beyond the somewhat mechanistic notions presented in earlier versions of Oral-Formulaic Theory, by extending Ong's interest in cultural features of oral societies beyond the verbal, by drawing attention to the agency of the bard and by describing how oral traditions bear meaning.

The bibliography would establish a clear underlying methodology which accounted for the findings of scholars working in the separate Linguistics fields (primarily Ancient Greek, Anglo-Saxon and Serbo-Croatian). Perhaps more importantly, it would stimulate conversation among these specialties, so that a network of independent but allied investigations and investigators could be established.

Foley’s key works include The Theory of Oral Composition (1988); Immanent Art (1991); Traditional Oral Epic: The Odyssey, Beowulf and the Serbo-Croatian Return-Song (1993); The Singer of Tales in Performance (1995); Teaching Oral Traditions (1998); How to Read an Oral Poem (2002). His Pathways Project (2006-) draws parallels between the media dynamics of oral traditions and the Internet.

Acceptance and further elaboration

The theory of oral tradition would undergo elaboration and development as it grew in acceptance. While the number of formulas documented for various traditions proliferated, the concept of the formula remained lexically-bound. However, numerous innovations appeared, such as the “formulaic system” with structural “substitution slots” for syntactic, morphological and narrative necessity (as well as for artistic invention). Sophisticated models such as Foley’s “word-type placement rules” followed. Higher levels of formulaic composition were defined over the years, such as “ring composition,” “responsion” and the "type-scene" (also called a "theme" or "typical scene"). Examples include the "Beasts of Battle" and the "Cliffs of Death" Some of these characteristic patterns of narrative details, (like “the arming sequence;” “the hero on the beach;” “the traveler recognizes his goal” would show evidence of global distribution.

At the same time, the fairly rigid division between oral and literate was replaced by recognition of transitional and compartmentalized texts and societies, including models of diglossia (Brian Stock Franz Bäuml, and Eric Havelock). Perhaps most importantly, the terms and concepts of “orality” and “literacy” came to be replaced with the more useful and apt “traditionality” and “textuality.” Very large units would be defined (The Indo-European Return Song) and areas outside of military epic would come under investigation: women’s song, riddles.” communication theory, Semiotics, and including a very broad and continually expanding variety of languages and ethnic groups,, and perhaps most conspicuously in biblical studies, in which Werner Kelber has been especially prominent.; the annual bibliography is indexed by 100 areas, most of which are ethnolinguistic divisions.

Present developments explore the implications of the theory for rhetoric and composition, interpersonal communication, cross-cultural communication, postcolonial studies, rural community development, popular culture and film studies, and many other areas. The most significant areas of theoretical development at present may be the construction of systematic hermeneutics and aesthetics specific to oral traditions.

Criticism and debates

with his kantele]] The theory of oral tradition encountered early resistance from scholars who perceived it as potentially supporting either one side or another in the controversy between what were known as “unitarians” and “analysts” – that is, scholars who believed Homer to have been a single, historical figure, and those who saw him as a conceptual “author function,” a convenient name to assign to what was essentially a repertoire of traditional narrative. A much more general dismissal of the theory and its implications simply described it as "unprovable" Some scholars, mainly outside the field of oral tradition, represent (either dismissively or with approval) this body of theoretical work as reducing the great epics to children’s party games like “telephone” or “Chinese whispers”. While games provide amusement by showing how messages distort content via uncontextualized transmission, Parry’s supporters argue that the theory of oral tradition reveals how oral methods optimized the signal-to-noise ratio and thus improved the quality, stability and integrity of content transmission.

There were disputes concerning particular findings of the theory. For example, those trying to support or refute Crowne's hypothesis found the "Hero on the Beach" formula in numerous Old English poems. It was also discovered in other works of Germanic origin, Middle English poetry, and even an Icelandic prose saga. J.A. Dane, in an article characterized as "polemics without rigor" claimed that the appearance of the theme in Ancient Greek poetry, a tradition without known connection to the Germanic, invalidated the notion of "an autonomous theme in the baggage of an oral poet."

Within Homeric studies specifically, Lord's The Singer of Tales, which focused on problems and questions that arise in conjunction with applying oral-formulaic theory to problematic texts such as the Iliad, Odyssey, and even Beowulf, influenced nearly all of the articles written on Homer and oral-formulaic composition thereafter. However, in response to Lord, Geoffrey Kirk published "The Songs of Homer," questioning Lord's extension of the oral-formulaic nature of Serbian and Croatian literature (the area from which the theory was first developed) to Homeric epic. Kirk argues that Homeric poems differ from those traditions in their "metrical strictness," "formular system[s]", and creativity. In other words, Kirk argued that Homeric poems were recited under a system that gave the reciter much more freedom to choose words and passages to get to the same end than the Serbo-Croatian poet, who was merely "reproductive". Shortly thereafter, Eric Havelock's Preface to Plato revolutionized how scholars looked at Homeric epic by arguing not only that it was the product of an oral tradition, but also that the oral-formulas contained therein served as a way for ancient Greeks to preserve cultural knowledge across many different generations. Adam Parry, in his 1966 work "Have we Homer's Iliad?", theorized the existence of the most fully developed oral poet to his time, a person who could (at his discretion) creatively and intellectually create nuanced characters in the context of the accepted, traditional story. In fact, he discounted the Serbo-Croatian tradition to an "unfortunate" extent, choosing to elevate the Greek model of oral-tradition above all others. Lord reacted to Kirk's and Parry's essays with "Homer as Oral Poet," published in 1968, which reaffirmed Lord's belief in the relevance of Yugoslav poetry and its similarities to Homer and downplayed the intellectual and literary role of the reciters of Homeric epic.

Many of the criticisms of the theory have been absorbed into the evolving field as useful refinements and modifications. For example, in what Foley called a "pivotal" contribution, Larry Benson introduced the concept of "written-formulaic" to describe the status of some Anglo-Saxon poetry which, while demonstrably written, contains evidence of oral influences, including heavy reliance on formulas and themes A number of individual scholars in many areas continue to have misgivings about the applicability of the theory or the aptness of the South Slavic comparison, and particularly what they regard as its implications for the creativity which may legitimately be attributed to the individual artist. However, at present, there seems to be little systematic or theoretically coordinated challenge to the fundamental tenets of the theory; as Foley put it, ""there have been numerous suggestions for revisions or modifications of the theory, but the majority of controversies have generated further understanding.

See also

Intangible culture

Oral law

Oral literature

Oral-formulaic composition

Oral Torah

Orality

Secondary orality

Traditional knowledge

Patha, Śrauta

Oral Tradition Journal

Parampara

Understanding Media

World Oral Literature Project

References

External links

Back to the Oral Tradition

The Center for Studies in Oral Tradition

The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature Online

Oral Tradition Journal

The World Oral Literature Project

Post-Gutenberg Galaxy

Dédalo Project. Open Software for Management of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Category:Humanities Category:Oral tradition

Shaykh Abdullah Nooruddeen Durkee is a Muslim scholar, thinker, author, translator and the khalifah (successor) for North America of the Shadhdhuli School for Tranquility of Being and the Illumination of Hearts, Green Mountain Branch. Nooruddeen Durkee became a Muslim in his early thirties in al-Quds, Jerusalem. He is the founder of Lama Foundation and Dar al-Islam Foundation. His major contribution is in the area of education, and for many years specifically in the realm of teaching reading, writing, and reciting of Qur'anic Arabic, which grew out of his work in the translation and transliteration of the sacred texts of the Shadhdhuliyyah and finally the Qur'an. One of his main contributions is the development of a transliteration of the Qur'an which has enabled non-Arabic people to understand and recite Quranic Arabic. Additionally he serves as a khateeb and an imam for various nearby Muslim communities on the Eastern coast of United States.

Shaykh Noorudeen has been granted an 'ijaza in Islamic Calling (da'wah) by Shaykh and H.E. Ambassador Umar Abdullah of the Comoro Islands, an 'ijaza in Islamic Introspection and Observation (muraqabah) by Shaykh and Dr. Seyed Ali Ashraf of Dhaka, Jeddahand Cambridge, and an 'ijaza in the Teaching, Propagation of Islam and the Nourishment of the Murids by Shaykh and Qadi (retd) Muhammad al-Jamal ar-Rif'aiof al-Quds ash-Shareef. In the professional world he was granted a Masters Degree [M.Arch] in Islamic Building in 1983 by Dr. Hasan Fathy of the Institute of Appropriate Technology in Kuwait.

Currently he has his Zawiya at Islamic Study Center, Charlottesville, Virginia which is also the location of The Green Mountain School, the third school Shaykh Nooruddeen has founded. He lives with his wife Noura Durkee in Green Mountain Farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Biography

Abdullah Nooruddeen Durkee was born 1938 in Warwick, New York, USA as Stephen Durkee.

1938-1944: Grew up with his grandmother, a devout Catholic and herbalist, at Greenwood Lake, New York. During this time he made periodic trips to war-time NYC where his mother taught school, his father was in hotel business and grandfather worked as ship chandler and cargo consolidator for the North Atlantic convoys.

In 1944-1952 he was a student at Corpus Christi, a Roman Catholic Grade School in NYC with a broad interfaith exposure.

In 1952-1956 he studied at Religious and Secular High Schools in NYC.

In 1957-1960 he studied with Dr. Robert Lowe, Professor of the Fine and Applied Arts, Teachers’ College, Columbia University, NYC, NY.

In 1960-1966 he worked as an artist and creator of environments in NYC and San Francisco. Paintings in various private collections as well as the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art, NYC. Along with Gerd Stern and Michael Callhan, founded USCO and created first multimedia lightshows. Began lengthy correspondence with Meher Baba. Traveled and exhibited at universities and museums throughout the northeast; large exhibition at the Tibetan Museum in NY City; articles on work appeared in various publications in ArtNews and Life Magazine.

1965-1967 lived in California with Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass) and lectured with him throughout the West. Worked for and found land in New Mexico while Alpert went to study in India.

In 1967-1970 he initiated the Lama Foundation in New Mexico which was one of the first centers in North America for Spiritual Realization and Interfaith Studies. During this time he served as Coordinator and Director of Programs and initiated contacts with teachers of many traditions, including Kalu Rinpoche, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi leading to his first contacts with nominal sufism through the writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, in person Murshid Samuel Lewis and later Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan. Organized, edited and produced Ram Dass' book Be Here Now, an international best-seller.

In 1970-1971 he coordinated the International Work Camps in the Alps conducted by Pir Vilayat Khan in the summers of 70-71. He also began a set of travels in the autumn and spring in the desert regions of North America coupled with excursions to the Subcontinent and Middle-East where he first came into contact with Muslims. Edited Pir Vilayat's book Towards the One.

In 1972 he lived on Jabal Zaytun outside of al-Quds ash-Sharif in Occupied Palestine where he embraced 'Islam at the Madrasah of the Masjid al-'Aqsah. During this period he studied Tasawwuf with Shaykh Muhammad al-Jamal, Na'ib of the Mufti of al-Quds, Shaykh Hazim Abu-l-Ghazali of Amman, Jordan, and Shaykh Abu Mutalib ash-Sharif of al-Khalil all, of whom were shaykhs of the Shadhdhuliyyah Order. He also received benefit from the teaching of Shaykh Noor-i-Muhammad, a Naqshbandi from Bokharah who lived and taught within the precincts of the old Islamic city of al-Quds ash-Sharif (Jerusalem).

In 1973-1976 he designed and built the Intensive Studies Center (also known as the I.S.C. or Islamic Sufi Center) in the mountains above San Cristobal, New Mexico. This center (which burned to the ground in a forest fire in the 90’s) contained the first mosque in Northern New Mexico and at this center many people came to hear for the first time about Islam from the perspective of Tasawwuf. Many young American people embraced Islam in this setting and went on to stay at the Center where they learned the rudiments of Islam and began to live as Muslims.

During the years 1976-1979 he lived and studied in Makkah al-Mukarramah in the 'Ashrafiyyah area of al-Jiyad and attended the Markaz al-Lugahat-al-Arabiyyah, Kulliyat ash-Shari'ah, what was then Jami'at Malik 'Abdu-l-'Aziz and is now known as Jami'at Ummu-l-Qurra. During this time he developed the idea of a Muslim school and community in United States, and was able to begin raising funds for the project.

1980-1988 on the first day of new Hijri 1400 century he was the sole signatore on incorporation papers for the Dar al-Islam foundation in Abiquiu, New Mexico which he co-founded in 1979. Shaykh Nooruddeen Durkee served from 1980-1988 as President of Dar al-Islam. During his term of Office the Foundation grew from an idea to a physical reality that, at the time of his leaving office, had assets of US$7 million, was debt-free and in full operation which included a mosque, a school, a number of residences and small businesses. Its purpose was to add as a living, artistic, social and cultural center for Islam in America. It drew visitors from all over the world, and residence, particularly but not exclusively from among Muslim reverts from America. The Foundation is operative and remains debt free with a limited summer teaching program.

During this period he also studied Islamic Architecture with world renowned Islamic architect Dr. Hasan Fathy, who made the original drawings of Dal al-Islam. In 1985 he was awarded the degree of Master of Islamic Architecture by the al-Sabbah Institute of Appropriate Technology in Kuwait.

During 1988-1993 after a conference on Islamic Education in Cambridge, England he moved with his family to Alexandria, Egypt. There he worked with his spiritual teacher, developed a circle of students, deeply involved in the Shadhdhuliyyah, and produced volume one, Orison of Shadhdhuliyyah and collected volume two, Origins of the Shadhdhuliyyah. He also began the first work on the Tajwidi Qur'an.

During this same period he also studied the Shadhdhuliyyah Shari'ah Way for Lovers of Qur'an and Sunnah with Shaykh Dr. Ibrahim Muhammad al-Batawi, who was a Professor of Islamic Philosophy for over 25 years at al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.

In 1986 Shaykh Nooruddeen was appointed by Shaykh Dr. Ibrahim al-Batawi as his Khalifah in the Western Hemisphere. He also studied the science of Muraqabah (inner contemplation) with the Mujaddidi Naqshabandi Shaykh, Dr. Seyed 'Ali Ashraf, professor of Islamic Education at King Abdu-l-Aziz University in Jeddah and later Professor of Education at Oxford University in the UK, who granted him an 'Ijaza (certificate to teach) the Muraqqabah. In 1983 he was granted an 'Ijaza in Islamic Calling (da’wa) from Shaykh Umar Abdullaah, a Ba'Alawi shaykh from the Commoro Islands who served as the Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States in the 80’s and 90’s. In 1999 he was granted an 'Ijaza and given 'Idhn to teach from Shaykh Muhammad al-Jamal, of the High Council of Sufism in al-Quds ash-Sharif, Occupied Palestine, and in 2004 was granted a Khilafah by Hazrat Quttubuddin Yar Fardi of the Nizamiyya/Chistiyyah in Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan, after a series of lectures he gave to large gatherings in the spring of that year.

From 1994 till the present: He returned to America and settled in Charlottesville, Virginia, working full time on the Tajwidi Qur'an which was published in 2003. During this time he founded the Green Mountain School as a conduit for teaching Qur'an and publishing of other books and lectures. He also established the an-Noor foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3), specifically for the publication of the Tajiwidi Qur'an and for the propagation of traditional moderate Islam.

Major Contributions

The Transliterated Tajwidi Qur’an Translated & transliterated by A. Nooruddeen Durkee [English edited by Hajjah Noura Durkee] (ISBN 1879402998) Call number: BP 131.6 .T3413 2003. an-Noor Educational Foundation, Charlottesville, VA, 2003. It is a guide for non-Arabic readers to the pronunciation of the original text and to understanding some of the meanings revealed in the glorious Quran. Translated and transliterated into English from Arabic. The transliteration (based on Mesa and Hart's rules) is clear and accurate, and is found directly opposite its Arabic counterpart. The English appears ayat by ayat under the transliteration. The language is respectful yet contemporary and very understandable. Additions to or ‘bridges’ in the text, necessary for the sake of English reading, are clearly distinguished by brackets and contain no editorial comment. The volume contains extensive notes and charts on tajwid, the rules for reading Qur’an, and a large index.

Its English is edited by Hajja Noura Durkee, with Arabic text hand-written by Munshi Muhammad Sharif and orthography by 'Ustadh Zafar 'Iqbal. The English 'translation' is built on a compendium of the shared understanding of previous translators such as M. Yusuf Ali, M. Pickthal, M. Asad, the Bewleys, and Um Muhammad.

The transliteration is an improvement over previously done work by Muhammad A. H. Eliasi (Golden Press, Hyderrabad, India, 1978) on a number of ground including: 1. The Arabic text in the Tajwidi Qur'an is approved both in Pakistan and by al-Azhar in Egypt, is clear and easy to read. 2. Has additional orthographic notation that aids the recitation. 3. The punctuation marks are obvious and clearly explained in the notes which is helpful for the non-Arabic speaking people. 4. Take advantages of available Latin fonts to reflect the more correct pronunciation.

In 1994, Shaykh Abdullah Noorudeen Durkee began this work while living in Alexandria, Egypt, as an aid to non-Arabic readers of the Qur’an. After it was completed in 2000, he sent it to a select group of Arabic scholars, speakers and readers as well as to a representative cross-section of Muslim readers for further review and correction. This latter stage, coupled with careful revisions of form, layout and design, took 3 more years. It was printed and bound during Ramadan 1424-2003.

Orisons of the Shadhuliyyah (first edition, Alexandria , Egypt 1991 (ISBN 977-00-1830-9), second edition Singapore, 2005)

Origins of the Shadhdhuliyyah which is the translation of three books from the Arabic which deal with the origins of the Shadhdhuli School of Sufism. Two of these books are by the late Shaykh of Azhar, H.E. Shaykh Dr. ‘Abdu-l-Haleem Mahmud, and the third is by Dr. Abu-l-Wafa Taftazani, the former vice-regent of Cairo University and the Shaykh ul-Mashaykh of the Turuq as-Suffiyyah of Egypt. Sequentially these books deal with the lives and teachings of Shaykh ‘Abu-l-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, his Khalifah (successor) Shaykh Abu-l-‘Abbas al-Mursi and one of his two successors, Shaykh Ibn ‘Ata’ ‘Illah as-Sakandari.

This book: “Origins of the School of the Shadhdhuliyyah” is companion edition to the first volume, “Orisons of the School of the Shadhdhuliyyah (ISBN 977-00-1830-9) which was published in al-‘Iskandariyyah (Alexandria), Egypt in 1991 CE [1411 Hijri]. This volume contains the complete collection in Arabic, English and Roman Transliteration of the ‘Ahzab and ’Awrad of the Shaykh which Shaykh Nooruddeen translated in collaboration with Dr. Ma’ddawi az-Zirr and then edited and prepared for publishing during a five year stay [1989-94] in Alexandria.

Dar al-Islam, Abiquiu, New Mexico

Nooruddeen Durkee is the founder of Dar al-Islam, a non-profit educational organization. It was a spiritual center of the first Islamic village in the United States. Dar al-Islam was founded in 1979 to facilitate the growth of accurate and authentic knowledge of Islam among the American people with a commitment to build bridges among the Muslims and non-Muslims of America. Programs undertaken were focused on reaching beyond information to the contextual and experiential dynamics of living in multi-cultural society. In 1975, while studying at the Markaz al-Lughat al-Arabiyyah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia he met a businessman and industrialist named Sahl Kabbani who was to become his partner in the endeavor of Dar al-Islam. Kabbani had studied engineering in the United States and was anxious to return something to the country that had contributed to his education. The two of them put together the plan for Dar al-Islam, with Kabbani reportedly contributing $125,000 to the foundation. Other money came from the Riyadh Ladies’ Benevolent Association of Saudi Arabia, from the late King Khalid, and from two of his daughters, Charitable donations – called sadaka – in the Islamic tradition serve to “purify” the donor’s money.

Planned as the eventual home of 150 families, it is the first Islamic village in the United States. The idea was to establish a community in the United States whose members could live a fully Islamic way of life. Dar al-Islam would be a place where American Muslims could engage in life's daily transactions according to their beliefs: the deen, or code of Islam. And in manifesting their faith, they would bear witness of Islam to others: the da'wa, or calling.

The foundation purchased its first site from Alva Simpson, a well-established rancher along the Chama, for $1,372,000. The land included the mesa top, plus below the mesa – a lust, fertile tract along the Chama River. A master plan was drawn up for the community, and the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy was called in to help make it a reality.

The Lama Foundation

The Lama Foundation in New Mexico was founded in 1967 by Nooruddeen Durkee, then Stephen Durkee and Barbara Durkee, now known as Asha Greer or Asha von Briesen. It began with the purchase of 100 acres (0.40 km²) of land adjacent to federal forested land, and continues today as a place for people to visit and live. "Construction of the first buildings began in 1968. The following year, the foundation was incorporated as an “educational, religious and scientific” organization.

It was one of almost thirty communes established in the region around that time, and one of the most well-known, along with Morningstar East, Reality Construction Company, the Hog Farm, New Buffalo, and The Family. By 1973, the vast majority of these communities had closed, but the Lama Foundation was able to continue because it had more structure and discipline than most others.

Ram Dass was a friend of the founders, and he stayed at the Lama Foundation as a guest when he returned to America from India. During his visit, he presented the Durkees with a manuscript he had written, entitled From Bindu to Ojas. The community's residents edited, illustrated, and laid out the text, which ultimately became a huge commercial hit when published under the name Be Here Now. Dass also held seminars at the Foundation. So did other spiritual leaders, such as Samuel L. Lewis, who was buried there after his death in 1971.

Green Mountain School

Founded in 1995, The Green Mountain School is the third school Nooruddeen Durkee has founded. The major concentration of the school was and continues to be the teaching of the Qur’an. The School also serves as a local conduit for the dispersing of zakat and sadaqah (charity). It sponsors a weekly ma'idatu-l-rahmah (table of mercy), which gathers together orphans and widows from the refugee community, local university students and professors, and others among the poor, lately imprisoned and broken hearted to eat together, pray together, make dhikr together and read Qur'an together. The Green Mountain School, in concert with An-Noor Foundation, has for more than seven years run a prison chaplaincy for both men and women in maximum security state prisons.

Books

Al Qur'an al Karim with transliteration and translation, 2000

Peace and Love: Four Essays and an Article, avail. as reprint, 1992-5

Ya Seen: The Heart of the Qur’an in Arabic, transliteration and translation

Love of God, a collection of articles from people of varying religious traditions, the chapter to represent the Muslims, entitled The Love of Allah, published New Delhi, 1994

The School of the Shadhdhuliyyah, Volume One: Orisons [translated with Ma‘ddawi az-Zirr, edited, transliterated with a long introduction], published in 1992 by The School of the Shadhdhuliyyah.

A Garden in Flames [the Jerusalem mss] [edited and produced] unpublished

Seed [edited and produced] 1974, Harmony Books, Crown Publishers

In the Garden [co-edited and co-produced] 1973, Harmony Books, Crown Publishers

Toward the One [edited and produced] 1971, Harper Torchbooks, Harper and Row

Be Here Now [edited and produced] 1969-70, Harmony Books, Crown Publishers

Bindu to Ojas [edited and produced] 1969, Lama Foundation

Select Articles

Muslim / Jewish Dialogue, Paragon House 2000 [contains a paper given at the Muslim/Jewish Dialogue Conference, Cordova, Spain, 1999

Petals of Light from the Muhammadan Rose, Texas Islamic Press, 1998

Muslim Christian Dialogue - Promise and Problems, Paragon House, 1998

The Selling of Sufism, International Sufi conference, San Francisco, 1997

The Love of Allah [revised edition] Published by Noon Heirographers, Nakhujabad

Reflections of the Possibilities of Perfection, Proceedings of the International Mawlid Conference, Chicago, 1996

Recital of Qur’an as a Way to Peace

'Islam is Salam published in Voices from World Religions, ISPK, Delhi, India, 1993

Making Peace With the Earth in the Light of Surrender

Acts of Peace, Inner & Outer

The Love of Allah, written for inter-religious and intra-religious conferences, have been gathered in a book entitled Peace and Love: Four Essays and an Article, 1995

Dar al Islam, ‘Mimar: Architecture and Development’, Autumn, 1987

Islamic Architecture for Schools in ‘Muslim Education Quarterly’, 1986

Hassan Fathy in America, VIA; Journal of School of Architecture MIT, 1985

Lectures and Conferences

Renewing the Family and building a Culture of World Peace, Washington, DC, 2000. Organised by the Interreligious and Internation Federation for World Peace

United Nations Millennium Peace Summit for Religious and Spiritual Leaders, New York 2000. Organised by the United Nations

Journey to Salaam, A Culture of Peace for the Muslim Community, Washington, 2000. Organised by Muslim Peace Fellowship and Assoc. of Muslim Social Scientists

Second International Islamic Conference, Chicago 2000, organised by the Nation of Islam, [three talks]

Mawlid an-Nabi, Columbia South Carolina, June 2000 organised by Islamic Studies and Research Association

Jewish-Muslim Encounters, Cordoba, Spain August 1999, Organised by the Inter Religious Federation for World Peace

Sayyidina Muhammad: a The Mercy to All the Worlds, June 1999 Columbia, SC organised by Islamic Studies and Research Association

Unity Conference, Washington DC, September 1998 [three lectures]

First International Islamic Conference, Chicago, 1998, [two talks]

The Universal Spirit of the Holy Qur’an and the State of the Ummah, Oct. 1998, Columbia, SC organised by Islamic Studies and Research Institute

Sufi Symposium, San Francisco, 1997 California, Paper: Truth in Advertising, The Selling of Sufism.

Sufi Symposium, San Francisco, 1996 California, Paper: Recital of Qur’an as a Spiritual Practice

Bluefield Meeting on Qur’anic Studies, Sept 96 Paper: Transliteration and Translation of Qur’an.

International Mawlid an-Nabi [S] Conference , Chicago, Illinois, USA, August 1995

Paper: Manifestations of the Shadowless Presence

International Federation for World Peace, 1995 Congress, Seoul, Korea, August 1995

Paper: Possibilities of Perfection considered from Light of Islam

Problems and Challenges in Islamic and Christian Dialogue, University of Waterloo, Rension College for Religious Studies, Waterloo, Ontario Canada, May 1995

Paper: Some Personal Thoughts on Muslim Christian Dialogue.

Islam in Practice in the Modern World

Unitarian conference center, Charlottesville, VA 1995

Perspectives on Islamic Sufism, Piedmont Community College, faculty seminar, 1995

Islamic Architecture; What it Is and What it Isn’t Piedmont Community College, faculty seminar, 1995

Stories from Qur’an Fifteen Ramadan TV shows for the Arab World, Cairo, 1994

Islam in Focus, Twenty talks on Islam for TV presentation in the Arab World, Cairo, 1993

Hasan Fathy and Appropriate Architecture, American Cultural Center, Alexandria, 1992

The Nature & Practice of Islam: Now, talk given in Batesville, Virginia, USA, June 1991

The Nature of Islam: Outer and Inner, Alexandria, Egypt, 1990

The Life After This Life, seven 2 hour talks given in Alexandria, Egypt, 1989

Islam in Practice, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico USA. 1987 held under the auspices of the Presbyterian Synod for Reconciliation between Christians and Muslims.

Participant and Speaker

Inter-Faith Dialogues sponsored by: World Council of Religions: “Spirituality and Practice”, Vancouver, Canada, 1987

“Making Peace with the Earth”, New York, New York, 1991

“Peace in Practice”, Paris, 1991

“Ways to World Peace”, Seoul, Korea, 1992

Participant and Speaker at Muslim World Intra-Faith Dialogues: "Islam and the Family”, Istanbul, Turkey, 1990

“Islamic Law”, Istanbul, Turkey, 1988

“Peace in Islam”, Casablanca, Morocco, 1989

“Islamic Education”, Casablanca, Morocco, 1988

National Delegate to the Sixth International Conference on Muslim Education, Cambridge, UK, 1990

National Delegate to the Fifth International Conference on Muslim Education, Cairo, Egypt, 1988

Work in Progress

Exile: A Stranger’s Tale, a memoire of the spiritual path, out for editing. The School of the Shadhdhuliyyah, Volume Two Origins: Shaykh Abu-l-‘Abbas al-Mursi and his Instructor Shaykh Abu-l-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli by H.E. Shaykh of Azhar, Dr ‘Abdu-l-Halim Mahmud, translated, edited and ready for proofing. Section Three: Shaykh Ibn ‘Ata’Illah by the Shaykh al-Turuq as-Sufiyah Misriya Shaykh Dr. Abu-l-Wafa Taftazani is translated and in final editing.

Lectures and Khutbahs

Shaykh Nooruddeen lectures widely, nationally and internationally. He lectures actively around Charlottesville, Greater Richmond, Virginia and Washington D.C. area. On a local level he has for more than ten years delivered the weekly khutbah (sermon) at a number of different community mosques where he serves a varied constituency, including prisoners, students, immigrants and refugees, Afro-Americans and Euro-Americans.

In 2005 and he gave the Eid Khutbah to the United Muslim Communities of Richmond, Virginia where he spoke to over 6,000 people on the theme of "One Deen, One Ummah." Many of his speeches are digitally recorded and are made available through Green Mountain School Official website.

Citations

References

Green Mountain School

Dar al-Islam

Audios of talks and Friday Khutbah of Shaykh Nooruddeen Durkee

1988 Aramco World Article about Dar al-Islam

Bio Article in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

External links

An-Noor Foundation

Tajwidi Quran Reader

See also

Islam

Sufism

Shadhili

Category:Muslim scholars Category:Converts to Islam Category:American Sufis Category:Living people Category:Muslim writers Category:Muslim scholars of Islam Category:Islamic studies scholars Category:1938 births

Homer (Ancient Greek: , Hómēros) in classical tradition is the ancient Greek epic poet, author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns and other works. Homer's epics stand at the beginning of the western canon of literature, exerting enormous influence on the history of fiction and literature in general.

The date of Homer's existence was controversial in antiquity and is no less so today. Herodotus estimates that Homer lived 400 years before Herodotus' own time, which would place him at around 850 BC; but other ancient sources gave dates much closer to the supposed time of the Trojan War, perhaps from 1194 to 1184 BC.

For modern scholarship, "the date of Homer" refers to the date of the poems' conception as much as to the lifetime of an individual. The scholarly consensus is that "the Iliad and the Odyssey date from the extreme end of the 9th century BC or from the 8th, the Iliad being anterior to the Odyssey, perhaps by some decades," i.e. somewhat earlier than Hesiod, and that the Iliad is the oldest work of Western literature. Over the past few decades, some scholars have argued for a 7th-century date. Those who believe that the Homeric poems developed gradually over a long period of time, however, generally give a later date for the poems: according to Gregory Nagy, they became fixed texts in only the 6th century. The question of the historicity of Homer himself is known as the "Homeric question": no reliable biographical information has been handed down from classical antiquity, and the poems themselves seem to represent the culmination of many centuries of oral story-telling and a well-developed formulaic system of poetic composition. According to Martin West, "Homer" is "not the name of a historical poet, but a fictitious or constructed name."

Alfred Heubeck states that the formative influence of the works of Homer in shaping and influencing the whole development of Greek culture was recognized by many Greeks, who considered him to be their instructor.

Life and legends

(1825–1905). The scene portrays Homer on Mount Ida, beset by dogs and guided by the goatherder Glaucus. (The tale is told in Pseudo-Herodotus).]] Although "Homer" is a Greek name, attested in Aeolic-speaking areas, nothing definite is known of him; yet rich traditions grew up, or were conserved, purporting to give details of his birthplace and background. Many of them were purely fantastical: the satirist Lucian, in his fabulous True History, makes him out to be a Babylonian called Tigranes, who assumed the name Homer only when taken "hostage" (homeros) by the Greeks. When the Emperor Hadrian asked the Oracle at Delphi who Homer really was, the Pythia proclaimed that he was Ithacan, the son of Epikaste and Telemachus, from the Odyssey. These stories proliferated and were incorporated into a number of Lives of Homer compiled from the Alexandrian period onwards. The most common version has Homer born in the Ionian region of Asia Minor, at Smyrna, or on the island of Chios, and dying on the Cycladic island of Ios. A connection with Smyrna seems to be alluded to in a legend that his original name was Melesigenes ("born of Meles", a river which flowed by that city), and of the nymph Kretheis. Internal evidence from the poems gives some support to this connection: familiarity with the topography of this area of Asia Minor's littoral obtrudes in place-names and details, and similes evocative of local scenery: the meadow birds at the mouth of the Caystros (Iliad 2.459ff.), a storm in the Icarian sea (Iliad 2.144ff.), and wind-lore (Iliad 2.394ff: 4.422ff: 9.5), or that women of either Maeonia or Caria stain ivory with scarlet (Iliad 4.142).

The association with Chios dates back at least to Semonides of Amorgos, who cited a famous line in the Iliad (6.146) as by "the man of Chios". Some kind of eponymous bardic guild, known as the Homeridae (sons of Homer), or Homeristae ('Homerizers') appears to have existed there, variously tracing descent from an imaginary ancestor of that name, or vaunting their special function as rhapsodes or "lay-stitchers" specialising in the recitation of Homeric poetry. Archeaeologists such as Wilhelm Dörpfeld in his works, suggested that Homer had visited many of those places and regions that he accurately described in his epics, such as Mycenae, Troy, the palace of Odysseus at Ithaca and more. According to Diodorus Siculus, Homer had even visited Egypt.

The poet's name is homophonous with ὅμηρος (hómēros), meaning, generally, "hostage" (or "surety"), long understood as "he who accompanies; he who is forced to follow", or, in some dialects, "blind". The assonance itself generated many tales relating the person to the functions of a hostage or of a blind man. In regard to the latter, traditions holding that he was blind may have arisen from the meaning of the word both in Ionic, where the verbal form ὁμηρεύω (homēreúō) has the specialized meaning of "guide the blind", and in the Aeolian dialect of Cyme, where ὅμηρος (hómēros) was synonymous with standard Greek τυφλός (typhlós), meaning 'blind'. The characterization of Homer as a blind bard goes back to some verses in the Delian Hymn to Apollo, the third of the Homeric Hymns, verses later cited to support this notion by Thucydides. The Cumean historian Ephorus held the same view, and the idea gained support in antiquity on the strength of a false etymology deriving his name from ho mḕ horṓn (ὁ μὴ ὁρῶν: "he who does not see"). Critics have long taken as self-referential a passage in the Odyssey describing a blind bard, Demodocus, in the court of the Phaeacian king, who recounts stories of Troy to the shipwrecked Odysseus.

Many scholars take the name of the poet to be indicative of a generic function. Gregory Nagy takes it to mean "he who fits (the Song) together". ὁμηρέω (homēréō), another related verb, besides signifying "meet", can mean "(sing) in accord/tune". Some argue that "Homer" may have meant "he who puts the voice in tune" with dancing. Marcello Durante links "Homeros" to an epithet of Zeus as "god of the assemblies" and argues that behind the name lies the echo of an archaic word for "reunion", similar to the later Panegyris, denoting a formal assembly of competing minstrels.

The Ancient Lives depict Homer as a wandering minstrel, much like Thamyris or Hesiod, who walked as far as Chalkis to sing at the funeral games of Amphidamas. We are given the image of a "blind, begging singer who hangs around with little people: shoemakers, fisherman, potters, sailors, elderly men in the gathering places of harbour towns". The poems themselves give evidence of singers at the courts of the nobility. Scholars are divided as to which category, if any, the court singer or the wandering minstrel, the historic "Homer" belonged.

Works attributed to Homer

The Greeks of the sixth and early fifth centuries understood by "Homer", generally, "the whole body of heroic tradition as embodied in hexameter verse". Thus, in addition to the Iliad and the Odyssey, there are "exceptional" epics which organize their respective themes on a "massive scale". Many other works were credited to Homer in antiquity, including the entire Epic Cycle. The genre included further poems on the Trojan War, such as the Little Iliad, the Nostoi, the Cypria, and the Epigoni, as well as the Theban poems about Oedipus and his sons. Other works, such as the corpus of Homeric Hymns, the comic mini-epic Batrachomyomachia ("The Frog-Mouse War"), and the Margites were also attributed to him, but this is now believed to be unlikely. Two other poems, the Capture of Oechalia and the Phocais'' were also assigned Homeric authorship, but the question of the identities of the authors of these various texts is even more problematic than that of the authorship of the two major epics.

Problems of authorship

The idea that Homer was responsible for just the two outstanding epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, did not win consensus until 350 BC. While many find it unlikely that both epics were composed by the same person, others argue that the stylistic similarities are too consistent to support the theory of multiple authorship. One view which attempts to bridge the differences holds that the Iliad was composed by "Homer" in his maturity, while the Odyssey was a work of his old age. The Batrachomyomachia, Homeric Hymns and cyclic epics are generally agreed to be later than the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Most scholars agree that the Iliad and Odyssey underwent a process of standardisation and refinement out of older material beginning in the 8th century BC. An important role in this standardisation appears to have been played by the Athenian tyrant Hipparchus, who reformed the recitation of Homeric poetry at the Panathenaic festival. Many classicists hold that this reform must have involved the production of a canonical written text.

Other scholars still support the idea that Homer was a real person. Since nothing is known about the life of this Homer, the common joke—also recycled with regard to Shakespeare—has it that the poems "were not written by Homer, but by another man of the same name." Samuel Butler argued that a young Sicilian woman wrote the Odyssey (but not the Iliad), an idea further pursued by Robert Graves in his novel Homer's Daughter and Andrew Dalby in Rediscovering Homer.

Independent of the question of single authorship is the near-universal agreement, after the work of Milman Parry, that the Homeric poems are dependent on an oral tradition, a generations-old technique that was the collective inheritance of many singer-poets (aoidoi). An analysis of the structure and vocabulary of the Iliad and Odyssey shows that the poems contain many formulaic phrases typical of extempore epic traditions; even entire verses are at times repeated. Parry and his student Albert Lord pointed out that such elaborate oral tradition, foreign to today's literate cultures, is typical of epic poetry in a predominantly oral cultural milieu, the key words being "oral" and "traditional". Parry started with "traditional": the repetitive chunks of language, he said, were inherited by the singer-poet from his predecessors, and were useful to him in composition. Parry called these repetitive chunks "formulas".

Exactly when these poems would have taken on a fixed written form is subject to debate. The traditional solution is the "transcription hypothesis", wherein a non-literate "Homer" dictates his poem to a literate scribe between the 8th and 6th centuries. The Greek alphabet was introduced in the early 8th century, so it is possible that Homer himself was of the first generation of authors who were also literate. The classicist Barry B. Powell suggests that the Greek Alphabet was invented c. 800 BC by one man, probably Homer, in order to write down oral epic poetry. More radical Homerists like Gregory Nagy contend that a canonical text of the Homeric poems as "scripture" did not exist until the Hellenistic period (3rd to 1st century BCE).

Homeric studies

The study of Homer is one of the oldest topics in scholarship, dating back to antiquity. The aims and achievements of Homeric studies have changed over the course of the millennia. In the last few centuries, they have revolved around the process by which the Homeric poems came into existence and were transmitted over time to us, first orally and later in writing.

Some of the main trends in modern Homeric scholarship have been, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Analysis and Unitarianism (see Homeric Question), schools of thought which emphasized on the one hand the inconsistencies in, and on the other the artistic unity of, Homer; and in the 20th century and later Oral Theory, the study of the mechanisms and effects of oral transmission, and Neoanalysis, the study of the relationship between Homer and other early epic material.

Homeric dialect

The language used by Homer is an archaic version of Ionic Greek, with admixtures from certain other dialects, such as Aeolic Greek. It later served as the basis of Epic Greek, the language of epic poetry, typically in dactylic hexameter.

Homeric style

Aristotle remarks in his Poetics that Homer was unique among the poets of his time, focusing on a single unified theme or action in the epic cycle.

The cardinal qualities of the style of Homer are well articulated by Matthew Arnold:

[T]he translator of Homer should above all be penetrated by a sense of four qualities of his author:—that he is eminently rapid; that he is eminently plain and direct, both in the evolution of his thought and in the expression of it, that is, both in his syntax and in his words; that he is eminently plain and direct in the substance of his thought, that is, in his matter and ideas; and finally, that he is eminently noble.

The peculiar rapidity of Homer is due in great measure to his use of hexameter verse. It is characteristic of early literature that the evolution of the thought, or the grammatical form of the sentence, is guided by the structure of the verse; and the correspondence which consequently obtains between the rhythm and the syntax—the thought being given out in lengths, as it were, and these again divided by tolerably uniform pauses—produces a swift flowing movement such as is rarely found when periods are constructed without direct reference to the metre. That Homer possesses this rapidity without falling into the corresponding faults, that is, without becoming either fluctuant or monotonous, is perhaps the best proof of his unequalled poetic skill. The plainness and directness of both thought and expression which characterise him were doubtless qualities of his age, but the author of the Iliad (similar to Voltaire, to whom Arnold happily compares him) must have possessed this gift in a surpassing degree. The Odyssey is in this respect perceptibly below the level of the Iliad.

.]]

Rapidity or ease of movement, plainness of expression, and plainness of thought are not distinguishing qualities of the great epic poets Virgil, Dante, and Milton. On the contrary, they belong rather to the humbler epico-lyrical school for which Homer has been so often claimed. The proof that Homer does not belong to that school—and that his poetry is not in any true sense ballad poetry—is furnished by the higher artistic structure of his poems and, as regards style, by the fourth of the qualities distinguished by Arnold: the quality of nobleness. It is his noble and powerful style, sustained through every change of idea and subject, that finally separates Homer from all forms of ballad-poetry and popular epic.

Like the French epics, such as the Chanson de Roland, Homeric poetry is indigenous and, by the ease of movement and its resultant simplicity, distinguishable from the works of Dante, Milton and Virgil. It is also distinguished from the works of these artists by the comparative absence of underlying motives or sentiment. In Virgil's poetry, a sense of the greatness of Rome and Italy is the leading motive of a passionate rhetoric, partly veiled by the considered delicacy of his language. Dante and Milton are still more faithful exponents of the religion and politics of their time. Even the French epics display sentiments of fear and hatred of the Saracens; but, in Homer's works, the interest is purely dramatic. There is no strong antipathy of race or religion; the war turns on no political events; the capture of Troy lies outside the range of the Iliad; and even the protagonists are not comparable to the chief national heroes of Greece. So far as can be seen, the chief interest in Homer's works is that of human feeling and emotion, and of drama; indeed, his works are often referred to as "dramas".

History and the Iliad

The excavations of Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik in the late 19th century provided initial evidence to scholars that there was a historical basis for the Trojan War. Research into oral epics in Serbo-Croatian and Turkic languages, pioneered by the aforementioned Parry and Lord, began convincing scholars that long poems could be preserved with consistency by oral cultures until they are written down. The epic weaves brilliantly the (scattered remains) of these distinct tribal narratives, exchanged among clan bards, into a monumental tale in which Greeks join collectively to do battle on the distant plains of Troy.

Hero cult

, by Archelaus of Priene. Marble relief, possibly of the 3rd century BC, now in the British Museum.]]

In the Hellenistic period, Homer was the subject of a hero cult in several cities. A shrine, the Homereion, was devoted to him in Alexandria by Ptolemy IV Philopator in the late 3rd century BC. This shrine is described in Aelian's 3rd century work Varia Historia. He tells how Ptolemy "placed in a circle around the statue [of Homer] all the cities who laid claim to Homer" and mentions a painting of the poet by the artist Galaton, which apparently depicted Homer in the aspect of Oceanus as the source of all poetry.

A marble relief, found in Italy but thought to have been sculpted in Egypt, depicts the apotheosis of Homer. It shows Ptolemy and his wife or sister Arsinoe III standing beside a seated poet, flanked by figures from the Odyssey and Iliad, with the nine Muses standing above them and a procession of worshippers approaching an altar, believed to represent the Alexandrine Homereion. Apollo, the god of music and poetry, also appears, along with a female figure tentatively identified as Mnemosyne, the mother of the Muses. Zeus, the king of the gods, presides over the proceedings. The relief demonstrates vividly that the Greeks considered Homer not merely a great poet but the divinely inspired reservoir of all literature.

Homereia also stood at Chios, Ephesus, and Smyrna, which were among the city-states that claimed to be his birthplace. Strabo (14.1.37) records a Homeric temple in Smyrna with an ancient xoanon or cult statue of the poet. He also mentions sacrifices carried out to Homer by the inhabitants of Argos, presumably at another Homereion.

Transmission and publication

Though evincing many features characteristic of oral poetry, the Iliad and Odyssey were at some point committed to writing. The Greek script, adapted from a Phoenician syllabary around 800 BCE, made possible the notation of the complex rhythms and vowel clusters that make up hexameter verse. Homer's poems appear to have been recorded shortly after the alphabet's invention: an inscription from Ischia in the Bay of Naples, ca. 740 BCE, appears to refer to a text of the Iliad; likewise, illustrations seemingly inspired by the Polyphemus episode in the Odyssey are found on Samos, Mykonos and in Italy dating from the first quarter of the seventh century BCE. We have little information about the early condition of the Homeric poems, but in the second century BCE, Alexandrian editors stabilized this text from which all modern texts descend.

In late antiquity, knowledge of Greek declined in Latin-speaking western Europe and, along with it, knowledge of Homer's poems. It was not until the fifteenth century AD that Homer's work began to be read once more in Italy. By contrast it was continually read and taught in the Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire where the majority of the classics also survived. The first printed edition appeared in 1488.

See also

Topics

Modern scholars

Richard Bentley

Ioannis Kakridis

Adolf Kirchhoff

Geoffrey Kirk

Karl Lachmann

Walter Leaf

Albert Lord

David Binning Monro

Karl Otfried Müller

Gilbert Murray

Gregory Nagy

Gregor Wilhelm Nitzsch

Milman Parry

Barry B. Powell

Heinrich Schliemann

William Bedell Stanford

Jean-Baptiste Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison

Alan Wace

Martin Litchfield West

Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff

Friedrich August Wolf

Notes

Selected bibliography

Editions

(texts in Homeric Greek)

Demetrius Chalcondyles editio princeps, Florence, 1488

the Aldine editions (1504 and 1517)

Th. Ridel, Strassbourg, ca. 1572, 1588 and 1592.

Wolf (Halle, 1794–1795; Leipzig, 1804 1807)

Spitzner (Gotha, 1832–1836)

Bekker (Berlin, 1843; Bonn, 1858)

La Roche (Odyssey, 1867–1868; Iliad, 1873–1876, both at Leipzig)

Ludwich (Odyssey, Leipzig, 1889–1891; Iliad, 2 vols., 1901 and 1907)

W. Leaf (Iliad, London, 1886–1888; 2nd ed. 1900-1902)

W. Walter Merry and James Riddell (Odyssey i.-xii., 2nd ed., Oxford, 1886)

Monro (Odyssey xiii.-xxiv. with appendices, Oxford, 1901)

Monro and Allen (Iliad), and Allen (Odyssey, 1908, Oxford).

D.B. Monro and T.W. Allen 1917-1920, Homeri Opera (5 volumes: Iliad = 3rd edition, Odyssey = 2nd edition), Oxford. ISBN 0-19-814528-4, ISBN 0-19-814529-2, ISBN 0-19-814531-4, ISBN 0-19-814532-2, ISBN 0-19-814534-9

H. van Thiel 1991, Homeri Odyssea, Hildesheim. ISBN 3-487-09458-4, 1996, Homeri Ilias, Hildesheim. ISBN 3-487-09459-2

M.L. West 1998-2000, Homeri Ilias (2 volumes), Munich/Leipzig. ISBN 3-598-71431-9, ISBN 3-598-71435-1

P. von der Mühll 1993, Homeri Odyssea, Munich/Leipzig. ISBN 3-598-71432-7

*

Interlinear translations

The Iliad of Homer a Parsed Interlinear, Handheldclassics.com (2008) Text ISBN 978-1607252986

English translations

This is a partial list of translations into English of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

Augustus Taber Murray (1866–1940)

*Homer: Iliad, 2 vols., revised by William F. Wyatt, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press (1999).

*Homer: Odyssey, 2 vols., revised by George E. Dimock, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press (1995).

Robert Fitzgerald (1910–1985)

*The Iliad, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2004) ISBN 0-374-52905-1

*The Odyssey, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1998) ISBN 0-374-52574-9

Robert Fagles (1933–2008)

*The Iliad, Penguin Classics (1998) ISBN 0-14-027536-3

*The Odyssey, Penguin Classics (1999) ISBN 0-14-026886-3

Stanley Lombardo (b. 1943)

*Iliad, Hackett Publishing Company (1997) ISBN 0-87220-352-2

*Odyssey, Hackett Publishing Company (2000) ISBN 0-87220-484-7

*Iliad, (Audiobook) Parmenides (2006) ISBN 1-930972-08-3

*Odyssey, (Audiobook) Parmenides (2006) ISBN 1-930972-06-7

*The Essential Homer, (Audiobook) Parmenides (2006) ISBN 1-930972-12-1

*The Essential Iliad, (Audiobook) Parmenides (2006) ISBN 1-930972-10-5

Samuel Butler (novelist) (1835–1902)

*The Iliad, Red and Black Publishers (2008) ISBN 978-1-934941-04-1

*The Odyssey, Red and Black Publishers (2008) ISBN 978-1-934941-05-8

Herbert Jordan (b. 1938)

*"Iliad", University of Oklahoma Press (2008) ISBN 9780806139746 (soft cover); ISBN 9780806139425 (cloth bound)

General works on Homer

Pierre Carlier, Homère, Fayard 1999. ISBN 2-213-60381-2

Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Le monde d'Homère, Perrin 2000. ISBN 2-262-01181-8

Jacqueline de Romilly, Homère, Presses Universitaire de France, 5th ed. 2005. ISBN 2-13-054830-X

J. Latacz 2004, Troy and Homer: Towards a Solution of an Old Mystery, Oxford, ISBN 0-19-926308-6; 5th updated and expanded edition, Leipzig 2005 (in Spanish 2003 ISBN 84-233-3487-2, modern Greek 2005 ISBN 960-16-1557-1)

Robert Fowler (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Homer, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004. ISBN 0-521-01246-5

I. Morris and B. B. Powell 1997, A New Companion to Homer, Leiden. ISBN 90-04-09989-1

B. B. Powell 2007, "Homer," 2nd edition. Oxford. ISBN 978-1-4051-5325-5

Influential readings and interpretations

E. Auerbach 1953, Mimesis, Princeton (orig. publ. in German, 1946, Bern), chapter 1. ISBN 0-691-11336-X

M.W. Edwards 1987, Homer, Poet of the Iliad, Baltimore. ISBN 0-8018-3329-9

B. Fenik 1974, Studies in the Odyssey, Wiesbaden ('Hermes' Einzelschriften 30).

M.I. Finley, The World of Odysseus 1954, rev. ed. 1978.

I.J.F. de Jong 1987, Narrators and Focalizers, Amsterdam/Bristol. ISBN 1-85399-658-0

G. Nagy 1980, "The Best of the Achaeans", Baltimore. ISBN 978-0801860157

Commentaries

Iliad:

*P.V. Jones (ed.) 2003, Homer's Iliad. A Commentary on Three Translations, London. ISBN 1-85399-657-2

*G. S. Kirk (gen. ed.) 1985-1993, The Iliad: A Commentary (6 volumes), Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-28171-7, ISBN 0-521-28172-5, ISBN 0-521-28173-3, ISBN 0-521-28174-1, ISBN 0-521-31208-6, ISBN 0-521-31209-4

*J. Latacz (gen. ed.) 2002-, Homers Ilias. Gesamtkommentar. Auf der Grundlage der Ausgabe von Ameis-Hentze-Cauer (1868–1913) (2 volumes published so far, of an estimated 15), Munich/Leipzig. ISBN 3-598-74307-6, ISBN 3-598-74304-1

*N. Postlethwaite (ed.) 2000, Homer's Iliad: A Commentary on the Translation of Richmond Lattimore, Exeter. ISBN 0-85989-684-6

*M.W. Willcock (ed.) 1976, A Companion to the Iliad, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-89855-5

Odyssey:

*A. Heubeck (gen. ed.) 1990-1993, A Commentary on Homer's Odyssey (3 volumes; orig. publ. 1981-1987 in Italian), Oxford. ISBN 0-19-814747-3, ISBN 0-19-872144-7, ISBN 0-19-814953-0

*P. Jones (ed.) 1988, Homer's Odyssey: A Commentary based on the English Translation of Richmond Lattimore, Bristol. ISBN 1-85399-038-8

*I.J.F. de Jong (ed.) 2001, A Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-46844-2

Trends in Homeric scholarship

;"Classical" analysis

A. Heubeck 1974, Die homerische Frage, Darmstadt. ISBN 3-534-03864-9

R. Merkelbach 1969, Untersuchungen zur Odyssee (2nd edition), Munich. ISBN 3-406-03242-7

D. Page 1955, The Homeric Odyssey, Oxford.

U. von Wilamowitz-Möllendorff 1916, Die Ilias und Homer, Berlin.

F.A. Wolf 1795, Prolegomena ad Homerum, Halle. Published in English translation 1988, Princeton. ISBN 0-691-10247-3

;Neoanalysis

M.E. Clark 1986, "Neoanalysis: a bibliographical review," Classical World 79.6: 379-94.

J. Griffin 1977, "The epic cycle and the uniqueness of Homer," Journal of Hellenic Studies 97: 39-53.

J.T. Kakridis 1949, Homeric Researches, London. ISBN 0-8240-7757-1

W. Kullmann 1960, Die Quellen der Ilias (Troischer Sagenkreis), Wiesbaden. ISBN 3-515-00235-9

;Homer and oral tradition

E. Bakker 1997, Poetry in Speech: Orality and Homeric Discourse, Ithaca NY. ISBN 0-8014-3295-2

J.M. Foley 1999, Homer's Traditional Art, University Park PA. ISBN 0-271-01870-4

G.S. Kirk 1976, Homer and the Oral Tradition, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-21309-6

A.B. Lord 1960, The Singer of Tales, Cambridge MA. ISBN 0-674-00283-0

M. Parry 1971, The Making of Homeric Verse, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-520560-X

B. B. Powell, 1991, Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet, ISBN 0-521-58907-X

Dating the Homeric poems

R. Janko 1982, Homer, Hesiod and the Hymns, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-23869-2

External links

Iliad by Homer

Works by Homer at Project Gutenberg.

Iliad bilingual edition bks 1-12 at archive.org

Collection of Homer-related links

Greek lessons based on Homer

Clyde Pharr, Homer and the study of Greek

Homer

SORGLL: Homer, Iliad, Bk I, 1-52; read by Stephen Daitz

Racing Odysseus: A College President Becomes a Freshman Again A former college president attended St. John's College and wrote a memoir about his experience reading Homer, rowing Crew, and examining the importance of a liberal arts education in today’s society.

Translation issues: Iliad translator Herbert Jordan (U. of Oklahoma Press 2008) describes translation issues including: how literal should it be; whether to call the besiegers Achaeans, Argives, Danaans, or Greeks; how—and whether—to translate "winged words"; what the wall by the ships looked like; whether the besiegers slept in tents, huts, camps—or nothing.

Category:Oral epic poets Category:Epic poets Category:Blind people * Category:Mythography Homer Homer Category:8th-century BC poets Category:Mycenaean Greece Category:Greek historical hero cult Category:Greek culture heroes Category:Ancient Chians Category:Ancient Smyrnaeans Category:Deified people

Felipe Herrera (17 June 1922 – 17 September 1996) was a Chilean economist. He served as the first president of the Inter-American Development Bank.

References

Category:People from Valparaíso Category:Chilean economists Category:Presidents of the Inter-American Development Bank Category:1922 births Category:1996 deaths

Coordinates	3°8′51″N101°41′36″N
Name	Craig Ferguson
Caption	Performing stand-up in New York City, 2007
Birth date	May 17, 1962
Birth place	Glasgow, Scotland
Medium	Stand-up, television
Nationality	British/American
Active	1980–present
Genre	Observational comedy
Subject	Everyday life, pop culture, self-deprecation, politics
Website	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Spouse	Megan Wallace-Cunningham (December 21, 2008–present)

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, producer, director, and actor. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting that program and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, an autobiography.

Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003. After that, he wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.

UK career

Ferguson's experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a rock band called "Exposure." He then joined a punk band called "The Bastards from Hell." The band, later renamed "Dreamboys," and fronted by vocalist Peter Capaldi, performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982. Ferguson credits Capaldi for inspiring him to try comedy.

After a nerve-wracking, knee-knocking first appearance, he decided to create a character that was a "parody of all the über-patriotic native folk singers who seemed to infect every public performance in Scotland." a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core. Ferguson also toured the UK during the late '80s under his own name as a support act to Harry Enfield.

Ferguson made his television debut in The Craig Ferguson Show, a one-off comedy pilot for Granada Television, which co-starred Paul Whitehouse and Helen Atkinson-Wood. This was broadcast throughout the UK on 4 March 1990, but was not made into a full series.

He has also found success in musical theatre. Beginning in 1991, he appeared on stage as Brad Majors in the London production of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside Anthony Stewart Head, who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter at the time. The same year, he appeared again at the Edinburgh Fringe, as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, opposite Gerard Kelly as Felix and Kate Anthony as Gwendolin Pidgeon, who is now much better known as Aunty Pam in Coronation Street; The play, which was relocated to 1990s Glasgow, later toured Scotland. In 1994, Ferguson played "Father MacLean" in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at the Union Chapel in London. Because it was performed in a practising church, the production was closed down after just ten performances.

After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson made further forays into television with appearances on Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show, his own show 2000 Not Out, and the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve.

In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective. He traveled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.

U.S. career

After cancellation of his show The Ferguson Theory, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond.

His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, on The Drew Carey Show, a role that he played from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents." In his comedy special "A Wee Bit O' Revolution", he specifically called out James Doohan's portrayal of Montgomery Scott on Star Trek as the foundation of his 'revenge'. (At the end of one episode, though, Ferguson broke the fourth wall and began talking to the audience at home in his regular Scottish accent.) His character was memorable for his unique methods of laying employees off, almost always 'firing Johnson', the most common last name of the to-be-fired workers. Even after leaving the show in 2003, he remained a recurring character on the series for the last two seasons, and was part of the 2-part series finale in 2004.

During production of The Drew Carey Show, Ferguson devoted his off-time as a cast member to writing, working in his trailer on set in-between shooting his scenes. He wrote and starred in three films: The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed and for which he won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. These were among other scripts which "in the great tradition of the movie business, about half a dozen that I got paid a fortune for but never got made." His other acting credits in films include Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, Born Romantic, The Ugly Truth, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass, and Totally Framed.

The Late Late Show

In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on 3 January 2005. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ...He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience." In April 2008, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson beat Late Night with Conan O'Brien for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.

By the end of 2009, Craig Ferguson topped Jimmy Fallon in the ratings with Ferguson getting a 1.8 rating/6 share and Fallon receiving a 1.6 rating/6 share.

Ferguson's success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he is the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show. TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening.

From 2007 to 2010, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on July 4, broadcast nationally by CBS. On the April 25, 2010 episode of 'The Late Late Show,' he stated he is to return for 2010, but that he could not 'officially' announce it.

Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the 26 April 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC.

Ferguson co-presented the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama with Brooke Shields in 2008.

He has done voice work in cartoons, including being the voice of Barry's evil alter-ego in the "With Friends Like Steve's" episode of American Dad, in Freakazoid! as Roddy MacStew, Freakazoid's mentor and on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command as the robot vampire NOS-4-A2. Most recently, he was the voice of Susan the boil on Futurama, which was a parody of Scottish singer Susan Boyle.

He makes standup appearances in Las Vegas and New York City. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and in October 2008 Ferguson taped his stand up show in Boston for a Comedy Central special entitled A Wee Bit o' Revolution, which aired on 22 March 2009.

British television comedy drama Doc Martin was based on a character from Ferguson's film Saving Grace - with Ferguson getting writing credits for 12 episodes.

On 6 November 2009, Ferguson appeared as himself in a SpongeBob SquarePants special titled SpongeBob's Truth or Square.

He hosted Discovery Channel's 23 season of Shark Week in 2010.

He provides the voice of Owl in the 2011 film Winnie the Pooh.

Literature

Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River (ISBN 9780811853750) was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it." Publishers Weekly called it "a tour de force of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane." His novel Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his son and to his grandfather, Adam. Ferguson revealed in an interview that he is writing a sequel to the book, to be titled "The Sphynx of the Mississippi". He also stated in a 2006 interview with David Letterman that he intends for the book to be the first in a trilogy.

Ferguson signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs. The book, entitled American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, focuses on "how and why [he] became an American" and covers his years as a punk rocker, dancer, bouncer and construction worker as well as the rise of his career in Hollywood as an actor and comic. It went on sale 22 September 2009 in the United States. On December 1. 2010 the Audiobook version of American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, was nominated for a Spoken Word Grammy.

In July 2009, Jackie Collins was a guest on The Late Late Show to promote her new book Married Lovers. Collins said that a character in her book, Don Verona, was based on Ferguson because she was such a fan of him and his show.

Personal life

Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied."

Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother. His elder sister's name is Janice and his brother's name is Scott. His younger sister, Lynn Ferguson, is a successful comedian, presenter, and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in the 2000 stop-motion animation film Chicken Run. She is currently a writer on The Late Late Show.

Ferguson once stated he was confused by a request made for him to speak at his old high school, since he dropped out at the age of 15 and never attended college.

His first visit to the United States was as a teenager to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City. Later, he lived in New York City, where he worked in construction in Harlem. Ferguson said that he "used to be a bouncer at a cool club in New York called 'Save the Robots'. That was the name of the club. I was the bouncer the first couple of weeks. I got fired. I was power-crazed. I was acting like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings."

Ferguson has married three times and divorced twice as a result of what he describes as "relationship issues." His first marriage was to Anne Hogarth from 1983 to 1986, during which time they lived in New York. From his second marriage (to Sascha Corwin, founder and proprietor of Los Angeles' SpySchool), he has one son, Milo Hamish Ferguson, born in 2001. He and Corwin share custody of Milo, live near each other in Los Angeles, and remain good friends. On 21 December 2008, Ferguson married art dealer Megan Wallace-Cunningham in a private ceremony on her family's farm in Chester, Vermont. Ferguson announced 14 July 2010 on Twitter that they are expecting a child. He wrote: "Holy crackers! Mrs F is pregnant. How did that happen? ...oh yeah I know how. Another Ferguson arrives in 2011. The world trembles."

A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since 18 February 1992. He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink by a friend, Tommy the Irishman, for celebrating the holiday, he was distracted from jumping off Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.

Ferguson is also a fan of Scottish football team Partick Thistle F.C. a Ferguson family crest with the Latin motto Dulcius ex asperis ("Sweetness out of [or from] difficulty") on his upper right arm in honour of his father; and the Ingram family crest on his upper left arm in honour of his mother.

Citizenship

Holding dual citizenship, he is currently both a naturalized citizen of the United States and a citizen of the United Kingdom.

During 2007, Ferguson, who at the time held only British citizenship, used The Late Late Show as a forum for seeking honorary citizenship from every state in the U.S. He has received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and was "commissioned" as an admiral in the tongue-in-cheek Nebraska Navy. Governors Jon Corzine (New Jersey), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Mark Sanford (South Carolina), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Rick Perry (Texas), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Jim Gibbons (Nevada) sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their respective states. He received as well similar honors from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas; Hazard, Kentucky; and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Ferguson became an American citizen on 1 February 2008. as Owl

Totally Framed (2011) as Jeffrey Stewart

Television

Red Dwarf (1988) episode "Confidence and Paranoia" as Confidence

Maybe This Time (1995) episode "Beasy Body" as Logan McDonough

Freakazoid! (1995) as Roddy MacStew

The Drew Carey Show (1996–2004) as Nigel Wick

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005–present)

Family Guy (2009) as himself

''SpongeBob's Truth or Square (2009) as himself

Futurama (2010) as Susan

Shark Week (2010) Host

Bibliography

Between the Bridge and the River. Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN 0811853756, ISBN 0811858197.

American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot. HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 0061719544.

Discography

Live At The Tron (as Bing Hitler). Jammy Records, 1986. Catalogue number JRLP 861.

References

External links

Craig Ferguson Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Craig Ferguson Speaks From The Heart from YouTube

Craig Ferguson and Megan Wallace Cunningham

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson on Twitter

Category:1962 births Category:American aviators Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American memoirists Category:American novelists Category:American actors of Scottish descent Category:American screenwriters Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Living people Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Glasgow Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Scottish comedians Category:Scottish immigrants to the United States Category:Scottish memoirists Category:Scottish novelists Category:Scottish screenwriters Category:Scottish television actors