My first contact with this poem was during an old English literature course during my bachelor's degree. Safe to say, it's been a few years since then and I didn't quite expect to be so moved by this work this time around since I struggled to understand it on my first run.

The new translation conducted by Maria Dahvana Headley brings to light some aspects of the story that might have been hidden up until now. It's amazing how such a classic can gain new life after all this time. It was truly a illuminating read, especially for an English literature major.

A fresh take on a classic text, Maria Dahvana Headley's Beowulf is a translation for a new generation.

Perfect for those who want a taste of what the classics have to offer, Beowulf is accessible for readers who may have shied away from previous translations. Headley perfectly writes the Geats and Danes as a boy's club, men who follow their leaders blindly into grand fights that rarely see their hero Beowulf as the lesser man. What really stands out in this translation, however, is Headley's passionate take of the women of the text: Grendel's mother, rarely talked about but is shown to be a warrior, attempts to avenge her child with a fury that rocks you as you read her tale.

This is a very interesting take on the old english poem/legend of Beowulf. It takes a little while to get used to the use of the term Bro, but once you get round that it seems to be natural. I particulary like the fact that headley
justifies the reinterpretation og Grendel's mother away from the traditional interpretation. of her as a monster., Fun idea, well executed.

My thanks to Scribe U.K. for an eARC via of NetGalley of ‘Beowulf: a new translation’ by Maria Dahvana Headley in exchange for an honest review.

Reading the introduction to this book told me this version was going to be smart, accessible and thoughtful - and it was. The choices the translator makes reconfigures the female characters, allowing us to see them in different lights, foregrounding their choices a little more. I'm thinking of getting an audiobook version because Headley is right in suggesting that the original Beowulf and this translation was made for listening to. Headley's beautiful alliterations and kennings, I think, will do even better in an audio version.
I think for me at the end of the day, this is still an epic about fighting, death and grandiose bragging - really interesting intellectually when you think about context, history and textual analysis, but not the most engaging as a novel or reading material in its own right. I want to get Headley's Mere Wife, a retelling of the Beowulf, focusing on Grendel's Mother, because Headley obviously knows how to write and knows the original text inside out and I think I'd enjoy it. Headley makes some interesting choices in translating the original, using both beautiful imagery and modern slang. I personally didn't like the whiplash I got from going from hashtags and stanning to kennings but I can definitely see this appealing to other readers who like the juxtaposition and contrast of that choice. Not my thing, but I can see intellectually her reasoning for it.

Overall, I'm glad I read this version. It made me revisit an interesting text I hadn't considered in half a decade and made me think.

The below review is the long version that was posted on my blog. There is also a shorter version on my Instagram.

⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5/5)

I was kindly approved for an E-ARC via NetGalley.

Beowulf is an epic poem written in Old English that tells of the warrior hero Beowulf and the monsters and epic battles that he faced.

I first read Beowulf when studying it at university. We worked with the Old English text, but read a translation by Seamus Heaney. During that module, we studied Headley's novel, The Mere Wife, and although there were some gruesome aspects that were not for me, the novel was brilliant. So, when I heard that Headley was writing a translation of Beowulf, I knew I wanted to read it.

Before going in, I knew this translation was going to take a more feminist perspective and that definitely made me want to dive in, but I was hesitent as to how modern the language would be.

I read Headley's introduction first and found it really interesting. I liked the opportunity to understand why she had made certain choices with her text, and reading this did make me think more deeply about the translation rather than judging it purely upon personal opinion. If you do read this text, I recommend reading the introduction first, especially if you are new to Beowulf.

I think Beowulf is such an interesting text for learning about Anglo-Saxon culture and I loved studying at uni. I enjoyed reading this new translation and was taken back to some of what I learnt during my degree.

If you are interested in Anglo-Saxon culture and would like to know more about some of it, I would recommend this text as a way in.

Due to the fact that I knew this would be quite a feminist translation, I went in with this lens on. I particularly wanted to see how Headley would portray female characters, especially Grendel's mother. I found that I did take interesting ideas away about the women in this text because of Headley's translation. I was surprised by the connections this text drew in my mind between Grendel's mother and the dragon, but this was intriguing.

Although I had expected to see a fresh portrayal of the female characters, I was not expecting such a clever depiction of masculinity and the male characters of the poem. I found that Headley's use of modern language made me picture how this narrative could be in modern times. What then happened was that I drew comparisons between Anglo-Saxon masculinity and modern masculinity, which was really interesting to think about.

Despite having this clever usage, I personally was not a fan of the modern language used in this translation, but I can understand why Headley chose to use a mixture of various kinds of language (including modern slang) and I appreciate what this did for the translation.

Overall, I liked revisiting Beowulf through this new translation and I think that Headley has made some interesting and thought-provoking choices. Whilst thinking about it myself was interesting, I do wish that I could have studied this text at uni because I would liked to have studied and discussed it further.

Headley's translation of Beowulf is released on the 8th March.

I was so excited to read this and really took the time to enjoy it properly, reading it out loud to my cats! I saved the introduction until afterwards, a lesson I learnt when reading Emily Wilson's Odyssey. It's interesting to think that Grendel's mother is Headley's character of interest yet that section I found less powerful. I was surprised by how engaged I was with the fireside chats and the political histories, sometimes this can feel like filler or in-jokes for long dead societies, but that wasn't the case here. I love the lack of physical descriptions of Grendel and his mother, allowing imaginations to run free. The lad/bro interpretation was clever, Beowulf as a selfish leader made that appropriate and it brought out a lot of the humour.

DNF @ 28% - I found the language choices of the translation so jarring that I couldn’t continue reading it. Every modern word used took me out of the narrative and made it difficult to connect with the story. I think I could have liked it, but the language choices just didn’t work for me. This would be great for anyone who struggles with older language translations.

From the startling first word (“Bro!”) this translation is joyous, full of energy, and makes reading this ancient poem a treat. The language is a mix of the archaic and contemporary that somehow makes it feel timeless. I think it will reward rereading too.

"Bro, Fate can fuck you up"

A fantastic new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley. The language trips easily off the tongue as the story flows. The modern slang adds clarity and emphasis to the translation, as well as reinforcing the feel of drunken storytelling (with plenty of manly boasts!).

I also found the foreword interesting - Headley is clearly passionate about the poem, and compelling in the arguments she makes for certain translation choices - Grendel's mother is a 'warrior-woman' rather than the whore or monster of some translations.

I suspect the slang will become dated in years to come, however right now this is a very enjoyable read, and a good introduction to Beowulf. I highly recommend it.

I loved this translation, but I also did not finish reading this translation. That sounds contradictory, but let me explain.

Before I dive into the actual review itself, there is something you must know about me. I am intimitately familiar with Beowulf. I studied English at university, and took several courses on Old English. I have read Beowulf before, I have had to translate passages of Beowulf and I have had to justify the translations I made. Moreover, I wrote my Bachelor Thesis on Beowulf. So to say I know Beowulf would be a bit of an understatement.

Now, why am I telling you this before I tell you my thoughts on Headley's translation? Because I did not finish reading this translation. I made it about 52% of the way through the translation. For now, I have made the decision to put this on the backburner. I can always return to it at a later time.

But, that is not to say it is not an excellent translation, because it is. I am just terrible at reading things that I already know. And I know Beowulf. So while the translation itself is, of course, fresh, and new, and exciting, the story is still the same. And because I am terrible at re-reading things, this translation lost my interest despite it being excellent.

Headley's translator note prefaces the translation, and it is a delightful note. I usually skip over these notes, but I felt compelled to read this one and I am glad I did. The note starts with an explanation of Headley's love for Beowulf and how it started. But what I loved most of all is how her observations about the poem. She states: "Beowulf is not a quiet poem".

Headley states that she wanted to create a translation that "reflects access to the entirety of the English word-hoard". And this she does, as she uses a beautiful combination of archaic words and modern words, and words which have new connotations in the modern day.

The translation is in verse, and you really get a sense of influence from slam poetry and rap music in this translation. Headley has kept a lot of the internal rhyme, like the original has, but also incorporates new rhythms. Moreover, Headley has kept, but modernised, quite a lot of the compound nouns. Compound nouns are nouns created from two separate nouns, which together form a new meaning. A famous example is a whale-road, meaning the sea or the ocean.

The translation already starts of with a kicker, because she translates the famous first word (hwæt) as "Bro", a word -- Headley explains in the note -- which commands attention. I just loved this choice for translation.

Furthermore, the translation is full of these modern phrases. For example: "We all know a boy can't daddy until his daddy's dead", or "daddying for decades". Here, the usage of daddy is in the more modern sense of someone being a dominant man, and therefore the boss. There are many more examples I could pick from, but I want to keep them a surprise if you end up reading this translation.

One of my favourite things in this translation are Headley's compound nouns. She translated a lot of them in a way that make sense for a 21st century reader. She uses modern nouns to create the same ancient meanings. For example, "barstool-brother" just really tickles my fancy.

There were many, and I mean many, hilarious phrases in this translation. Headley made this old text modern, whilst managing to keep the epic proportions and feelings of the original text. An excellent effort and no small feat.

If you want to read a translation of Beowulf , and want to read a fresh, exciting, feminist, hilarious, modern-phrases-using, version of this old tale, this translation is the one for you! I fully intend on eventually finishing this translation, so perhaps this review will get an update in the future.

A beautifully translated epic story; "Beowulf" is a complex poem, and a bit intimidating, yet reads like modern fantasy.

For a foundational English text which has already seen masterful translations from the likes of Seamus Heaney, revitalising 'Beowulf' may seem at first like a thankless task. The story is riveting, of course, but how to bring a text which is so familiar into the 21st Century, and how, indeed, do we find humour in a book which has been pondered over repeatedly for hundreds of years?
Maria Dahvana Headley's version of 'Beowulf' achieves the impossible it seems. 'Bro!' it begins. 'Tell me we still know how to talk with kings.'
Such an undertaking (i.e. infusing something so ancient with social media slang and feminist discourse) might well have seemed frivolous in less capable hands, but Headley is an accomplished novelist and scholar, and has in many ways been building towards a project of this magnitude for some time now.
Brave, potentially controversial, sometimes incendiary, this is the translation of 'Beowulf' to get if you want your bratty teenager to love literature.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I never saw the appeal of Beowulf, especially after I read the Collins Classics translation; I despised it. But Maria Bahvana Headley does a much better job of taking something and making it much more readable, while also preserving the beauty of her language. However, the variation in her language also made Beowulf sound like a dude-bro (which I lowkey love).

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Fire comes from the same family as famine. It can feast unfulfilled forever"
"Any season is a season for blood, if you look at it in the right light."

And this quote which I will include everywhere I can for the rest of my life because it is iconic:

"daddying for decades after his own daddy died."


But I'll be honest with you, I've tried two versions of Beowulf now, and, while this was much better (and was so much easier to read and to follow and understand what was happening) I won't go back. Do I know a friend who would love this, absolutely!

If you like Beowfulf, you'll probably love this translation.

I have not read any of the multitude of translations of this epic poem. My rudimentary knowledge of the narrative comes from the film that was made about 15 years ago. I seem to remember Neil Gaiman’s name in the credits for writing and producing, but I may be wrong it was so long ago.

Whether he had anything to do with the screenplay or not I remember enjoying it immensely.

Without having read the original, I cannot compare this version to it, but the author, in a wonderful introduction, explains her intentions and reasons for how she has written this contemporary translation.

A quick word or two about the poem.

Hrothgar, king of the Danes has built this wonderful mead hall, in which he and all his warriors and kinsman, can get rolling drunk, reliving there halcyon years. However, before they can enjoy this wonderful mead hall, which seems to be known about far and wide, a huge troll like creature named Grendel turns up uninvited and proceeds to eat anybody he can get his hands on, stuffing the rest into a sack to save for later.

Hrothgar and his men try but fail to slay this monstrous beast, and Hrothgar is forced to close the mead hall, despairingly boarding up the main entrance.

This brings the hero of the poem, Beowulf, from across the sea, I told you that the mead hall had a reputation known far and wide. Beowulf and his trusty band of warriors promise to slay Grendel for Hrothgar. Beowulf in true heroic fashion defeats and slays Grendel with his bare hands.

However just when you think all is well, along comes Grendel’s mother seething for vengeance. Grendel’s mother is every bit equal to Beowulf in the martial department and a truly epic battle between the two ensues.

In a nutshell this is the story, there is a little more involving a dragon, but I do not want to spoil it for anybody, like me, who does not know the story.

The poem itself is beautifully written. It flows along swiftly, and the author’s use of alliteration is phenomenal. Hearing this read aloud from a skilled orator would be magic.

Maria Dahvana Headley has done a magnificent job of translating an epic poem written in Old English, giving it a cotemporary spin, and bringing it to everyday readers. Writing it in a beautiful style, that is a joy to read, even for those who very rarely read poetry. I know nothing about poetry and verse, but I do know that this is such an enjoyable read. As I said I cannot compare this to the original poem, I have a strong feeling I would struggle to even understand the first lines, but this translation is a wonderful read for everybody. 4 stars!

One thing that did surprise me is that it is marketed as a feminist translation. But to me it still comes across as a very masculine poem. Not that there is anything wrong with this, I just struggled to find feminist undertones. I thought that perhaps we might find Grendel’s mother more humanized and grieving for her son. Very hard to tell with no knowledge of the original.

Another point is that the language uses swearing, which I believe ties into the contemporary male braggadocio and adds a great deal to the tone that Headley is trying to achieve. Still if you are not a fan of “bad language” it may be an issue.

"And yet.
Possessions bring no peace. So many wars, so many kingdoms, so much calamity.”

So says Maria Dahvana Headley in the foreword of her translation of Beowulf . And she is correct. To strive to have more possessions takes effort. To retain them, even more so. Ms. Headley’s introduction to the history of this epic poem is brilliant. There is no other way to describe it. If her knowledge and passion for this poem and the background to it don’t inspire you to at least consider reading it (whether or not you do), I don’t know what will. Her enthusiasm reminded me of some great teachers that I had in highschool. Particularly my Year 12 English teacher, Mr. Davidson. People that make it a joy to learn, a pleasure. To grow, to go back in time and be awed by what went before us.

I have to admit to being a lazy reader. While I know of many books which can be classed as “classics”, and have at least a basic knowledge of them, in all honesty I can count the number that I’ve read on one hand. Same for the writers who inform us of times long past, such as Tacitus and Aeschylus. The unknown author of the original Beowulf. We’ve not crossed paths since high school.

So why Beowulf and why now? Quite simply, I read Mieke’s review (on Goodreads) a few months ago and enjoyed it very much. I’ve been looking for “shorter” reads to kickstart my 2021 reading, and I remembered this book and her review and thought, hmmmmm...interesting. Maybe. Why not. Let’s do this. Time to expand my horizons.

”Privilege is the way men prime power, the world over.”

I couldn’t help but be caught up in the cadence and rhythm of the writing. It begs to be read out loud. This would be a great work of performance art. A short, snappy piece that would easily catch the audience’s attention. I was swept along like by a giant wave reading this.

The translation is fresh and written in modern language, with plenty of colloquialisms. I enjoyed that touch. It gave it an immediacy and an urgency. Parts of it made me smile with the use of urban terms. It shouldn’t, but it works. This is a very blokey poem, testosterone filled. It’s practically dripping off the pages. Parts are bloody and brutal. Visceral. There's liberal use of the word "bro". There are swear words. Many swear words. But fate is always spelt with a capital F.

”...yes, yes, bro!”
”Unlucky, fucked by Fate.”
”There’s a dress code! You’re denied. I’m the Danes’ doorman; this is my lord’s door... No! You’re not on the guest list.”
”...made sashimi of some sea monsters.”
”The hostess was impressed by Beowulf’s boasts. Brass balls, if nothing else.”
”I’m the strongest and the boldest, and the bravest and the best.”
”Bro, Fate can fuck you up.”
(My personal favourite. I can see t-shirts printed with this slogan. Cutoff versions being worn at the gym)

I don’t know that I understood it all. I cannot pretend that I did. The myriad of names confused me. But this didn’t lessen my enjoyment. The scenes were vivid and descriptive. It was the perfect accompaniment to the raging storm which hit Sydney late this arvo.

I cannot compare this to any other translation of Beowulf, so I’ve no idea if this version pleases the purists. It’s clear to me that it was a mammoth task to undertake this interpretation, and that it was done with care and love. I have to say that I’m perfectly happy to have read this, and that I’ve no need to seek out any other variants. For me, this was a fun, raucous ride. 3.5 🌟pulsing stars. And a flagon of mead.

PUBLICATION DATE: 05.Jan.2021

”Boy, enjoy the feast. Take your place in the tale of my heroes and their hopes.”

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Scribe UK and the author Maria Dahvana Headley for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

My review has also been posted on Goodreads. Please drop by for a visit!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3745476925?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

#Beowulf #NetGalley

A fresh and invigorating rendition of Beowulf, Headley drags the infamous tale from the Scandinavian mead halls of 1000 years ago to our dingy bars of the 21st century.

I have read a number of Beowulf translations (for university as well as for my own interests) and was curious to see what else could be done with it. With every new translation of the infamous Beowulf comes new interpretations and characterisations. Particularly, the choice of how to start the tale is one that varies between translators: some go for a casual but still demanding “Hey”, some for a more historic-sounding “Hark”. This version has opted for the apt – and hilarious – ‘Bro” and so this version starts as it means to go on. We are listening to this story from our own storytellers in our own drinking establishments (an old man perched precariously on a barstool, fifth drink in hand, all-too-willing to share a story. We’ve all met him.).

Instead of a direct translation, Headley goes more for a reimagining and invites a new generation of readers into the Beowulf canon. (Every main translation choice is detailed and given context in the excellent and illuminating Introduction). Most of these choices do work: “Bro, lemme say how fucked they were” is a particular favourite but on one or two occasions it does go too far. “Hashtag: blessed” is such an example.

Grendel’s unnamed mother is also rendered anew here: she is not a fanged and terrifying monster but instead a traditionally-armed and terrifying warrior. Any deviation from the traditional Beowulf depictions still makes sense, yet casts the story in a new and interesting light.

“Bro! Tell me we still know how to talk about kings! In the old days, everyone knew what men were: brave, bold, glory-bound. Only stories now, but I’ll sound the Spear-Danes’ song, hoarded for hungry times.” - opening lines of ‘Beowulf’, 2021.

My thanks to Scribe U.K. for an eARC via of NetGalley of ‘Beowulf: a new translation’ by Maria Dahvana Headley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first direct experience of the Old English epic poem, ‘Beowulf’ though was aware of its influence on writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, whose own translation was published posthumously. I found Headley’s storytelling excellent and her use of modern language, including slang, refreshing and accessible. I felt that she embraced the spirit of the epic, bringing it vividly to life. I was especially taken with Beowulf’s encounter with the dragon.

In her Introduction Maria Dahvana Headley writes of her long love affair with ‘Beowulf’ that began when she came across an illustration of Grendel’s mother in a compendium of monsters. She eventually wrote a contemporary adaptation of ‘Beowulf’ - ‘The Mere-Wife’, with Grendel’s mother as its protagonist. It was nominated for the 2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

In her research for that novel she read many translations and friends encouraged her to work on her own. This is the result.

Will this very modern translation encourage newcomers to read other translations or adaptations of the epic? Well, I certainly feel more confident about doing so after reading it.

Headley’s Introduction also provides background on earlier translations and notes books that may be of interest to those seeking a deeper appreciation. In this respect I would expect that this book would appeal to educators and librarians as well as to general readers such as myself.

I likely will buy the audiobook edition of ‘Beowulf: a new translation’ if it becomes available as I find hearing poetry a powerful experience and I plan to also seek out ‘The Mere-Wife’.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Emily Wilson gave new life to the Odyssey in 2017. Now it is time for Beowulf to meet his match in Maria Dahvana Headley. Like Wilson, Headley brims with modern word-play and lights the torch of gender equality. Which in literature simply means making the feminine humane. Once again, one is amazed at what a re-reading of the stories we think we know can offer, when told by new voices.

If you thought Beowulf was a bore anyway – perhaps you recall a dull english teacher – then fear not, because you are mistaken. The story is action-packed adventure with epic sword-play and decorous creatures of myth, which Headley’s talents are well suited to enriching. The Old English verse of alliterative ornamentation is here shaken up allowing for free verse and the odd rhyme scheme. Technicalities are not a burden. What shines through is a distilled poetic voice that has a tremendous clarity of world-vision. Some examples of exquisitely-lit scenes follow:

“Water reflects trees like tangled teeth, a gaping maw that, at night, is lit with flames in the flood.”

“The sun springs out of Heaven, leaving the celestial dome dark.”

“The sky sipped the smoke and smiled.”

Then there’s the witty irreverent aspect of Headley’s voice. Descriptively – The sashimi made of sea monsters – narratively – the use “Bro!” as an intonation based on hwæt – the use of expletives, especially in relation to wyrd – and the eccentric toying with compounds, which the OE is famous for – Life-lord, Earth-shaker, woe-walker, slaughter-slinger, and so on.

Yet perhaps more bold still, and whilst this isn’t a retelling but a translation, is how Headley interprets the feminine. This is given full force in her introduction, which I need not repeat here. But markedly, the dragon becomes a she, and Grendel’s mother takes on formidable characteristics; she is no longer just a “Monstrous hell-bride … swamp-thing from hell”, as Seamus Heaney put it in his version from 1999.

Come in from the cold and re-read the story you think you know. Change your status from onlooker to warrior, no longer fear the blast but instead be suicidal, run head-first in an emotional outburst and scar the dragon. Live out the poetry as if you were crowded around a bar listening to your pals shake the earth with their new lyrics. That much may be asked of us in this electric, possibly eccentric, yet certainly visionary new translation.

New readers welcome. And for those already Beowulf-versed, the more the better.

I didn't get on with this at all, and I guess I might be too oldschool for this translation.
The use of modern slang in there felt jarring and threw me out of the flow every single time - for example the shout "bro!" or the use of daddy/ daddying to describe a father. It felt forced, shoehorned in to make this appealing to a young audience.

I am not saying you need to use archaism if you're translating a medieval text.
I am saying that maybe I am just not the right kind of reader for this - and I am a linguist. This was not written for me. If this new translation gets new readers to this tale, and makes them enjoy it, it has a place in this world. It doesn't need to be liked by every reader.

If you're considering to read this, maybe see if you can get hold of a sample first.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

As Maria Dahvana Headley states in the introduction to this book, there have been a lot of translations of Beowulf, the Old English epic poem about a warrior fighting monsters. This is a new translation, focusing on updating the verse rather than preserving its antiquity and giving some of the female figures—particularly Grendel's mother—a somewhat better treatment. Perhaps most notably, this version of Beowulf focuses a lot on the modern parallel of oral storytelling and frames the poem like some guy is telling you it in a bar (the poem's opening word, 'hwæt', becomes 'bro!').

I've studied Beowulf both in translation at secondary school and in the original during my undergrad English degree, so the story and general feel of the poem are very familiar, but this translation brings something else to the poem. Possibly it's the clash of old and new—modern slang like 'Hashtag: blessed' and archaisms like 'wyrm'—and the use of swearing and colloquial phrases to get across the meaning of certain lines and phrases which feels quite different to the Beowulf people might be used to. Occasionally the use of 'bro' throughout gets a bit grating, but it's interesting to see which parts could be translated into something much more modern and which stay sounding older.

There's probably some clever things to be said about some of the translation choices and the way this translation is framed, though it's too long since I've actually read another version of it for me to think of anything. I liked the fact that the repetitive nature of the storytelling in Beowulf is foregrounded by giving it the feel of some guy telling you a boring story, only the story is about fighting Grendel and his mother and a dragon.

As someone who loved Emily Wilson's translation of the Odyssey, it was enjoyable to get another modern translation that focuses on updating the language and making the concepts reverberate through time, rather than something that is a reimagining or retelling. This is a readable Beowulf in verse and one that really makes you think about why these warrior men spend so much time sitting around telling heroic stories to one another. I'm not sure what it would be like as an introduction to Beowulf but it's fun if you already know it and can imagine rolling your eyes as some guy tries to tell you the story.