The Best Translation of Poetics
Poetics was written in Ancient Greek. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Anthony Kenny
Oxford University Press · 2013 · 128 pages
Kenny's 2013 translation is the clearest in print. He's a philosopher and a literary scholar both, and his notes resolve the famous cruxes about catharsis and the lost second book on comedy.
Every recommended edition, compared
Heath pairs the Poetics with the Rhetoric in one Penguin, which is the right pairing since they're both about how to move an audience. Solid introduction, cheap, easy to find.
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Reading Poetics in translation
Poetics was written in Ancient Greek, so unless you read Ancient Greek, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.