I can’t find any reviews online of Laura Swift’s edition of Archilochus: The Poems. That strikes me as odd. I would have expected at least the Bryn Mawr Classical Review to have one, particularly since the publisher is Oxford University Press. The OUP webpage cites two seemingly minor journal reviews.
Is there a reason why other journals have avoided reviewing the book? (Is it that bad?)
Mark
Reviews have appeared in two of the most important English language journals, the Journal of Hellenic Studies (141 (2021) 245 - 246: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0075426921000161) and the Classical Review (70.2 (2020) 315-317: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X20000761).
Is there a reason why other journals have avoided reviewing the book?
In a nut shell, reviews take time and money. Not all journals can afford to spend £120 on one volume (though occasionally volumes are discounted or the cost is covered by another institution). Even when they can afford a book, they need to find an expert willing to review it (Bryn Mawr is the exception: academics and doctoral students can nominate themselves). But experts aren’t always available, and when they are, they often have trouble respecting deadlines. For journals that publish annually, a missed deadline obviously means a delay of 12 months. The length and complexity of the book must also be taken into consideration.
Also, some reviews are more thorough than others. This depends on what the journal asks of its reviewer. Compare a JHS review with, say, one from Gnomon.
Once a review is published (or approved for publication), a copy of it is sent to the publishing house. If the review was carried out before the book’s publication, the publishing house has someone read and excerpt it for the website. However, if the reviews are delayed, the publishing house (in this case OUP) usually doesn’t prioritise updating the web page (priority is given to the recently published).
More reviews might still appear. I agree it is strange that a Bryn Mawr review hasn’t been published, but in light of the importance of Swift’s edition, I’d say a copy has already been sent to someone for review.
Thank you, Nate! I had assumed that if I googled the name of a book and “review” they’d all show up in the search results. I guess that isn’t the case. Thank you for finding the reviews you posted. I wish I could see the other pages, but $26 per review is a lot for two or three pages. (I did spring for the book itself despite being a bit worried about not having found any reviews.)
I appreciate the background on why it can take quite a long time for reviews to be published. It makes sense now.
Mark
BMCR listed Swift’s edition under “Books Received March 2019,” but it is not currently found among the “Books Available for Review.” So I would agree with nate.a: someone somewhere has probably agreed to review it for BMCR, but there’s no telling when the review might finally appear.
I think BMCR only keeps books on the books to review list for four months. That said, probably someone did agree to review it and never did