Beggars and Ladders

Brent Raycroft reflects on Anne Carson's "Poverty Remix (Sestina)," the inter-connections between ancient scapegoating rituals and modern homelessness, and the problem with Emily Wilson's critique.

“Poverty Remix (Sestina)” is the piece in Wrong Norma that gets the most attention from Emily Wilson in her essay “Fox and Hedgehog.” It concerns the ancient Greek poet Hipponax, whom I had never heard of. I confess I skimmed it in on my first read, a bit intimidated. Wilson’s essay—maybe inadvertently—helped me see its importance.

Hipponax spoke an obsc…