Jeffrey M Duban Author, Editor & Translator

An ardent classicist, art devotee, and classical music presenter, Jeffrey M. Duban grew up in Boston, where he attended the prestigious Boston Public Latin School. He began studying Latin in the seventh grade and Greek in the tenth, followed in college by Old Testament Hebrew and Sanskrit. A graduate of Brown University, he obtained his Ph.D. in classics from The Johns Hopkins University and briefly entered university teaching. Changing course, he earned his J.D. from Fordham University and, for the next 22 years, devoted himself to defending academic freedom in college settings large and small. Upon retirement he returned to his first love, Ancient Greek, publishing The Lesbian Lyre (2016) and The Shipwreck Sea (2019). Inspirational visits to the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios, Syros, and Crete further cemented his determination to translate the Iliad classically, critically, free of colloquialisms, and truer to Homer’s own idiom and elevated diction. Jeffrey’s varied musical interests have also led to a collaboration with contemporary Greek-Canadian composer, Constantine Caravassilis, on his double album From Sappho’s Lyre. In addition to liner notes, commentary, and translations of Sappho, the album includes “5 Duban Songs” set to Jeffrey’s own poetry appearing in The Shipwreck Sea. Jeffrey and his wife, Jayne, his beloved editor and collaborator, live in New York City.