Beowulf at Kalamazoo: Essays on Translation and Performance (Studies in Medieval Culture)

This is a collection of essays designed to capitalize on the success of Seamus Heaney' prize-winning translation of Beowulf, which bridges the gap between the ivory tower where most who study Beowulf reside and lay readers drawn to the poem because of Heaney's reputation, the review in the New York Times Book Review, the Whitbread Prize for poetry, and even perhaps the attractive and eye-catching cover. The book is conceived in three parts. The first section explores translations into modern English and languages other than English; the second explores issues of oral theory and performance; the third offers a wide selection of reviews of Heaney's Beowulf written by Anglo-Saxonists. A DVD of readings of the first fifty-two lines of Beowulf in Old English, Czech, Spanish, Icelandic, Hungarian, and Italian, and selections from Turkish and Asian epics accompanies the volume.

""Beowulf"" at Kalamazoo should be of interest to Anglo-Saxonists, translation theorists, linguists, oral and performance theorists, and anyone anywhere in an English department who teaches Beowulf in translation.

Jana K. Schulman is Professor of English at Western Michigan University specializing in law and literature in medieval Iceland and Anglo-Saxon England. Paul E. Szarmach is Professor Emeritus of English at Western Michigan University, as well as the former Executive Director of the Medieval Academy of American and of the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University. His research and publications have focused on Anglo-Saxon literature and culture.