Milman Parry

Milman Parry was an influential American classical scholar and linguist, best known for his pioneering work in the field of oral traditions and his studies on the epic poetry of the Balkans. His research in the 1930s led to the groundbreaking theory of oral literature, which argued that epic poems like those attributed to Homer could have been composed and transmitted orally. Parry's fieldwork included recording the verses of Avdo Međedović, which significantly advanced the understanding of oral poetics and its implications for literary history.