Not my work as such, Stephen. I need a jumping board for a couple of
other projects - I've been way too much the crrritic this year and the
writer feels a little neglected - and Beowulf is It.

I don't seriously expect it to be published, but it's the kind of
thing that needs hearers (even if imaginary ones). Some poems don't,
but this is a story, and has addressees; and there's definitely a poet
eliciting attention in the middle of it. (Not me, I mean.) If the list
would bear with me, it would be a great help. I promise there are more
exciting bits later on...

xA

On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 8:36 AM, Stephen Vincent <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Alison et al -
> Unfortunately I am caught up in a big private project and I cannot get into this - tho I think it is great that Alison is willing to put the new body of her work on the line with the List as on-going critic et al. Noble or not, a bravery there!
>
> Quick brain here does want to say that, at least, Seamus Heany is noble, I mean, a noble prize winner. If that makes him noble, he is noble, too.  Whether or not his translation is noble seems a contested question.
>
> Stephen V
>
> --- On Mon, 11/24/08, Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Fitt 3
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Monday, November 24, 2008, 1:25 PM
>
> You should see the original line. Heany solves it by writing three
> lines where I write one and a half. Though perhaps a happier solution
> will occur to me.
>
> Anyway, what's wrong with being strong and noble? It's an epic poem,
> innit?
>
> On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 7:52 AM, David Bircumshaw
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Alison, Alison, what on earth are you doing?
>>  Can you imagine yourself, in a poem by yourself, writing sentences
>> like 'He was the strongest of men,/ and noble.'
>>
>> Come off it lass!!
>>
>> it's risible, and you can do better than that.
>>
>>
>> All the Best
>>
>> Dave
>>
>> 2008/11/24 Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]>:
>>> III
>>>
>>>
>>> The son of Half-Dane brooded on sorrow.
>>> Wise and strong, woe beat him down,
>>> the hate too strong, the strife too constant,
>>> too cruel the hurts that battered his people,
>>> this enemy filling the night with terror.
>>>
>>> Then Hygelac's thane, beloved of the Geats,
>>> heard of Grendel. He was the strongest of men,
>>> and noble. At once he ordered a good ship,
>>> and said he would sail the swan's road
>>> and bring his warriors to this war-king.
>>> Dear as he was to them, no one hindered him:
>>> far-sighted men studied the omens
>>> and urged him on. From the Geat people
>>> he chose champions, and fifteen together
>>> he led them down to the wave-fretted shore.
>>> Under the cliffs their sleek ship waited
>>> where currents curled the sea against sand,
>>> and the sea-skilled fighters, bold and impatient,
>>> stepped up to its prow.
>>>
>>> Into its breast they bore bright weapons,
>>> worthy war-gear, and then thrust out
>>> in a well-braced ship eager for venture,
>>> the wind urging their foam-necked bird
>>> over the waves.
>>>                         On the second day
>>> the seafarers saw their journey's ending,
>>> shining sea-cliffs and wide headlands.
>>> Thanking God for a smooth crossing
>>> swiftly the warriors moored their ship
>>> and stepped onto land, their mail-shirts rattling.
>>> From his sea-cliff walls the Scyldings warden
>>> saw them bear their bright-bossed shields
>>> and battle-gear over the gangplank,
>>> and wondered aloud, who were these men?
>>> He rode to the shore and shook his spear
>>> and fiercely asked them, in formal words:
>>> "What manner of men are you, mail-wearers,
>>> who set your tall keel thus to the waves
>>> and this way come? What is your business?"
>>>
>>> He was the sea-guard. Under his watch
>>> no enemies landed unseen in Denmark
>>> to ravage the coast.
>>>
>>> "Never before in all my time
>>> have I seen shieldbearers land with less guile,
>>> although you have neither word nor leave
>>> of our war-makers, nor our kinsmen.
>>> Nor have I seen a mightier lord
>>> than this helmed man who stands before me.
>>> He's no churl dressed up in fine armour
>>> unless his looks belie his nature.
>>> Now I demand to hear your names
>>> and your lineage, or you will be labelled
>>> spies in Denmark. Strangers, hear me:
>>> plain thought and haste are best."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Editor, Masthead:  http://www.masthead.net.au
>>> Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
>>> Home page: http://www.alisoncroggon.com
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> David Bircumshaw
>> Website and A Chide's Alphabet
> http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
>> The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
>> Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Editor, Masthead:  http://www.masthead.net.au
> Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
> Home page: http://www.alisoncroggon.com
>



-- 
Editor, Masthead:  http://www.masthead.net.au
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Home page: http://www.alisoncroggon.com