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Beowulf, by Anonymous (ca. 8th C CE, transl. by Maria Dahvana Headley 2020)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: A contemporary interpretation of the classic Old English epic poem about the heroic exploits of a Norse warrior named Beowulf.

Review: To say this recent translation is polarizing is an understatement. It‘s won awards for both translation and poetry yet has been largely ill-received by specialists and readers. ⬇️

I was skeptical when this book went out and people went nuts for it. Really? Beowulf? While I‘m still not super jazzed by the story, I do think it plays an important role as such an old, intact manuscript. And I love how Headley has both honored the original and made the text accessible for the modern reader.

There were some great sections in this translation. Then there were bits of modern vernacular that pulled me right out. It ended up being so distracting and downgrading my rating. Remember how obnoxious people were with stuff like “fo‘ shizzle” and such? That‘s how this reads. And the profanity felt forced, trying to make this something it didn‘t otherwise feel like. I get why she did it, and her intro is great, but it felt like trying too hard.

This translation made the news as the first one by a woman. TBH I don't think I would have been able to tell.
From time to time I found the translator's choices aggressively modern so that I wished I had my Heaney translation with me to compare. But I still enjoyed reading it enough to want to listen to an audio version to see how that stands up. The introduction in the ebook I read was badly formatted so that I gave up and just read the poem.

This was my #Doublespin for April, and I guess I would've put this book off without the challenge by @TheAromaOfBooks 😅 But now I'm glad I read it. It was my first real encounter with Beowulf and I'm more than happy to finally know his whole story. This translation is a mix of tradition, modernity and feminismn - quite interesting and good to read. I liked the flow the verses had. But the modern words sometimes sounded a bit wrong for this text.

And here we go again 😁 This is my #BookSpin list for April 2022. Finished both of my March books, so I'm good to go!

@TheAromaofBooks #DoubleSpin

#12booksof2021 #February This was another tough one, with 3 books I loved, but the tagged book wins if for no other reason than I didn‘t think anyone could make me enjoy Beowulf and this version had me rolling on the floor. Honorable mentions to Seven Years of Darkness by You-Jeong Jeong and Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter.

Bro! Tel me we still know how to speak of Kings!! Loved Headley‘s translation. If you enjoy classics, it‘s worth picking up the book just to read the Introduction by Headley talking about choosing this project, themes of mother and monster and being a woman translator of ancient texts.

“I don‘t know that Grendel‘s mother should be perceived in binary terms-monster versus human. My own experiences as a woman tell@me it‘s very possible to be mistaken for monstrous when one is only doing what men do: providing for and defending oneself. Whether one‘s solitary status is a result of abandonment by a man or because of choice, the reals of lore about single, self-sustaining women, suggest that women have been, over the centuries ⬇️

Oh! Bro! I am so glad I dived into this. Headley is a brilliant feminist bad ass with a sense of humor and this is a hoot. And she clearly knows her shit. The introduction is great. I‘m reading this along with a more classic translation. @LitStephanie you might love this. Happy to share when I‘m done

Another 2 on order but, all in all, a very good Indie Bookstore Day haul (I got a very good price on the hardcovers, including the 2 I ordered. So, while I spent a lot, it‘s not as bad as it looks?) #indiebookstoreday

If Beowulf were written by a slam poet, I think this would be the result. The #audiobook is freaking fantastic!! I‘m definitely going to listen again to get more out of the translation, but I think she‘s done a great job of modernizing it. (A lot of bro‘s and cursing, fwiw.)

On sale for the totally worth it price of $1.99 in the US! No membership needed. https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/beowulf-a-new-translation-by-maria-dahvana...

So I‘m not usually one for audiobooks, but this was great. I loved the modern translation, and the narrator did an amazing job. It was the perfect thing to listen to while doing battle with a washing machine from 8pm to 7am the following morning, without sleep.

I wasn't totally sure I'd manage a bingo this month, but I pulled it off right at the end.

#bookspinbingo #bookspin #doublebookspin @TheAromaofBooks

My tiny #bookhaul this week. I‘m super excited to read both.

Up on Unassigned Reading today @sebrittainclark wrote a really incredible review about her experience reading a new translation of Beowulf after her less than spectacular middle school reading. I adored this translation which was my first time reading Beowulf, but I loved hearing Sarah's thoughts on the different perspectives brought by the different translations. Check it out:

http://unassignedreadingpod.com/giving-beowulf-a-second-chance/

For anyone who was interested, I've posted a much more in depth review of Beowulf: A New Translation on my blog.

http://unassignedreadingpod.com/giving-beowulf-a-second-chance/

4/5

I loved how much more accessible this version of Beowulf is than what I read in middle school. I was able to really appreciate the story in a new way. It got me super excited to check out The Mere Wife as well.

1. Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley, Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz, and An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley

2. Accidental Engaged by Farah Heron

3. Darcy & Elizabeth, Jane Eyre & Mr. Rochester, Emma & Mr. Knightly

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Bro! Tell me we still know how to speak of Kings!

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Like many others, I HATED Beowulf in high school, but I heard such great things about this new translation, particularly in audiobook format, that I used a Libro.fm credit. I do not regret it. The story is rich, accessible, and hilarious. “Meanwhile, Beowulf gave zero shits.”🤣🤣

Thank you #NetGalley for this #ARC!

I never saw the appeal of Beowulf, especially after I read the Collins Classics translation, but Headley does a much better job making it much more readable but beautiful. She also made Beowulf sound like a dude-bro (which I lowkey love).

After two version of Beowulf now I won't go back for a third. But will I be buying this translation for a friend? 100%

3.5 stars

"daddying for decades after his own daddy died."

That's the quote. I swear.

After @Reggie told me that there was a new translation of Beowulf I wasn‘t sure at the time if I would try to read it. But there it was on #NetGalley and they approved me (right on the day it published =P ). I‘ve decided to skip the introduction, it was around 13% of the book, which isn‘t a lot in terms of pages, just 18, but not my favourite thing. #Bookly

If you‘ve always known you should read this classic but never had the will, here is the way. Headley‘s translation is brilliant—funny, wise, colloquial in the most inspired way, inspiring to anyone who cares about language. All the ⭐️s.

#poetrymatters #poetrytoday

📚❤️📚❤️📚❤️📚❤️📚❤️📚❤️😍❤️📚❤️📚

^From Headley's introduction

Also...
"for the Danes
had slept sweetly in a world that had woken him,
benefited from bounty, even as they'd broken him."

College Casey's brain is exploding.
Current Casey's heart is exploding.
Very excited for this one.

Bro! If the idea of reading Beowulf gives you traumatic flashbacks to high-school or university English lit classes, you need to check out this new translation. I‘m so glad I got to read and thoroughly enjoy this one for fun, instead of study. My full review here: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/new-releases/

Also in my Christmas haul (Bc #poetrymatters #poetrytoday) 📚😍📚😍📚😍📚😍📚😍📚😍

Twenty-two out of the forty-three books I read this month are 5-star reads, which tells you how great November has been for me. I bailed on three books; little patience for anything that wasn't exactly right. Highlights are on my blog: https://lindypratch.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-2020-reading-round-up.html

Happy Thanksgiving Littens. I hope it is an enjoyable day for.you. I am alone this year so I am gonna get some serious reading done today.

In prepare for #24B4Monday

I read the Seamus Heaney translation in college and unexpectedly loved the story, reading it in one sitting.

I loved this new one too, maybe even more, although it‘s been 20+ years. Definitely worth the read!

After reading the print edition, I listened to the audiobook edition. I couldn‘t get enough! JD Jackson‘s golden voice is absolutely perfect for this new translation. #audiobook #classicbarstoolboasting

This translation is amazing! Headley‘s use of language and wordplay makes this a stunning telling of Beowulf. I was utterly captivated and devoured this, yet savored phrases and the imagery that came to life in this telling. Superb!

Maria Dahvana Headley‘s reason why we need to keep analyzing texts like Beowulf: “We might, if we analyzed our own long-standing stories, use them to translate ourselves into a society in which the hero doesn‘t require monster killing, border closing, and hoard clinging, but instead requires a more challenging task: taking responsibility for one another.”

Beowulf is a living text in a dead language, the kind of thing meant to be shouted over a crowd of drunk celebrants. Even though it was probably written down in the quiet confines of a scriptorium, Beowulf is not a quiet poem. It‘s a dazzling, furious, funny, vicious, desperate, hungry, beautiful, mutinous, maudlin, supernatural, rapturous shout.
—from the author‘s introduction

“Holy hell, Beowulf, how‘d it go out there?” He “battled like a brawler” with monsters, that‘s how. This hero is “hashtag: blessed.” I find great pleasure in reading multiple interpretations of classic works, especially when the language play is as thrilling as in this new translation. Headley‘s nods to other versions include reference to Tolkien‘s Smaug: her dragon has “piles of preciouses.” I plan to listen to the audiobook next.

In her acknowledgments, Headley thanks Emily Wilson for inspiration. I noticed at least two poetic metaphors that are the same in their respective translations: whale-road for sea, and sky-candle for sun.

…bringing you this token of our esteem, sea-booty, gore-loot / no big whoop. Here‘s to glory! And now, my story.

(Internet photo)

Meanwhile, Beowulf gave zero shits.
He dressed himself in glittering gear
his mail-shirt finely forged, links locked
and loaded. He‘d meet this murdering mother
under mere, and amend her existence.

“[...] Now he heard and endured
the din of drinkers. Their poetry poisoned his peace.
Every night, turmoil: raucous laughter from Heorot, howling of harps, squawking of scops.”

(Oh, Grendel, I‘ve been there: putting up with noisy neighbours who party every night.)

For a Beowulf newbie, this translation was so interesting to read. I loved the introduction laying out Headley's choices and direction in thai translation and why she agreed and disagrees with certain accepted facts of the translation of Beowulf. And what can I say, any opener that starts off with the word "bro" is a winner in my book.

What an opening line: "Bro! Tell me we still know how to speak of kings!"