Beowulf

A New Translation

by Maria Dahvana Headley

“Bro!” begins Headley’s delightful new translation of Beowulf, and from there unravels a tale of heroism and machismo and masculinity that honors the origins of the epic poem while also carrying it forward. There’s an unexpected irreverence and comedy here that elevates the usually gloomy tale into a story as brash and boisterous as the brags told by its eponymous protagonist. “He was our man, but every man dies. / Here he is now! Here our best boy lies! / He rode hard! He stayed thirsty! He was the man! / He was the man.” Indeed.

Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Year
2020
Collection
Poetry
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Selected essays

Writing essays & notes

  1. There and here

    On Always Coming Home and Orality and Literacy

  2. The open universe

    On The Language of the Night and The Real World of Technology

Reading books

  1. Was

    by Geoff Ryman

  2. Kraken

    by China Miéville

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