Gilgamesh : A New Translation of the Ancient Epic - Sophus Helle

Gilgamesh

A New Translation of the Ancient Epic

By: Sophus Helle

Paperback | 26 January 2023 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $24.95

$24.40

or 4 interest-free payments of $6.10 with

Aims to ship in 7 to 10 business days

A poem for the ages, freshly and accessibly translated by an international rising star, bringing together scholarly precision and poetic grace
 
“Sophus Helle’s new translation . . . [is] a thrilling, enchanting, desperate thing to read.”—Nina MacLaughlin, Boston Globe
 
“Looks to be the last word on this Babylonian masterpiece.”—Michael Dirda, Washington Post
 
Gilgamesh is a Babylonian story about love between men, loss and grief, the confrontation with death; the destruction of nature; insomnia and restlessness, finding peace in one’s community, the voice of women, the folly of gods, heroes, and monsters—and more. Translating directly from the Akkadian, Sophus Helle offers a literary translation that reproduces the original epic’s poetic effects, including its succinct clarity and enchanting cadence. Millennia after its composition, Gilgamesh continues to speak to us in myriad ways.
Industry Reviews
"Looks to be the last word on this Babylonian masterpiece."-Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"Lively, earthy, and scrupulous in its scholarship."-Robert Macfarlane, New York Review of Books

"Sophus Helle's Gilgamesh is woven of earthly, muscular language that breathes an epic of gutsy dreams and ancient knowhow. In Helle's rendition, this scholar truly translates rhythm and movement until Gilgamesh breathes anew."-Yusef Komunyakaa, author of Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth

"The translation is elegant and eloquent. The essays and elucidations are learned, lively, and hugely illuminating. Sophus Helle is a poet, a scholar, and, if truth be told, a genius."-Marshall Brown, University of Washington

"Helle's new translation reminds us just what a miracle it is that Gilgamesh has survived, an emblem of mortality available only in fragments, yet speaking to our mortal loves and fears with undying force."-Wai Chee Dimock, Yale University

"A dazzling work of scholarship that manages complex topics with elegance and thoughtfulness."-Louise Pryke, University of Sydney

"A fresh and vital translation, alive to the music of the original, and accompanied by essays offering crucial background and insightful analysis, Helle's Gilgamesh will bring the ancient poem to life for new audiences."-Alexander Beecroft, University of South Carolina

Praise for the Danish edition:

"One of those miracles that makes life worth living."-Bjorn Bredal, Politiken

"Both brilliantly clear and archaically dusky. . . . One dares predict that this new Danish translation of Gilgamesh will become a classic in our country."-Erik Skyum-Nielsen, Information

"There is every reason to have a go at this wonderful, lively, wild, and violent encounter with a fascinating early portrait of the human animal: grim, dumb, and yet so clever."-Mikkel Bruun Zangenberg, Weekendavisen

More in History & Criticism of Literature

Wifedom : Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life : Our July Book of the Month - Anna Funder
Night : Penguin Modern Classics - Elie Wiesel

RRP $22.99

$17.75

23%
OFF
Normal Women : 900 Years Of Making History - Philippa Gregory
The Outsiders : Penguin Modern Classics - S.E. Hinton

RRP $22.99

$21.90

Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

$16.99

The Book of Yokai : Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore - Michael Dylan Foster
Emma : Penguin Classics - Jane Austen

$14.99

Dracula : Penguin Classics - Bram Stoker
The Idiot : Penguin Classics - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

RRP $17.99

$16.75

Wuthering Heights : Penguin Classics - Emily Bronte
The Histories : Penguin Classics - Herodotus

RRP $24.99

$18.95

24%
OFF
Wuthering Heights : Clothbound Classics - Emily Bronte

RRP $35.00

$31.75

The Iliad - Homer

Paperback

RRP $32.95

$30.25

Nineteen Eighty Four : Penguin Modern Classics - George Orwell