Antigone at the Rot Party

A post-modern translation of a pre-modern classic Who needs Trojan horses and gods when you have your brother's rotting corpse and the fate of a kingdom in your hands? Bex Frankeberger’s debut (part play, part novel) filters Antigone through queer theory and contemporary philosophy to ask age-old questions with renewed fervor and wit. What do we owe the dead, and are we brave enough to act in their memory? A playful and intimate translation of Sophocles’s classic, Antigone at the Rot Party reminds us of the courage—and defiance—that it takes to love. To celebrate this book launch, Cantine Press and Clio’s cordially invite you to join Bex Frankeberger, Lizzie Davis, and the spirit of Antigone herself for a spirited discussion. Bex and Lizzie will talk about the meaning of translation, modern myth-making, what to do about rot, and more. Bex Frankeberger is a writer and a horticulturist. Antigone at the Rot Party is their first novel. They were a 2024-2025 McCormack Writing Center Reading Fellow and their work has been published in outlets including Mizna and DizzyTV. Lizzie Davis is an editor and translator with a decade of experience shepherding projects from manuscript to award-winning finished book. Previously senior editor at Coffee House Press, she joined the east bay’s own Transit Books as executive editor in 2024. Cantine Press is a new, independent publisher based in Oakland that publishes emerging and established writers in multiple languages, from the U.S. and around the world. They like book arts almost as much as literary arts and include hand-bound Special Edition versions of publications among their offerings. They are passionate about publishing art that will move, inspire, and reshape the tired discourses of our day.