Today in our poetry news roundup, we look at a limited edition of Beowulf, the poetry collection gifted to a Prime Minister and the rapper releasing a poetry book.
Beowulf Limited Edition to be Published
The Folio Society has announced that they have published a limited edition of the classic Beowulf. The copy uses interpretation by the late Seamus Heaney, and is presented with the original Old English verse.
This is a stunning limited edition with lavish illustrations that have been created specially by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, and only 750 copies will be published. Each of the copies has been signed by both the illustrator and the historian who has written an introduction to the book. The copies will be bound in goatskin and will have metallic gold and blue foils blocked on the cover.
Hicks-Jenkins’ original illustrations will be used to accompany the poem. Each piece of artwork has been done by hand and uses a simple colour palette of black, blue and white. The introduction, written by Janina Ramirez, takes a look at the fascination that the poem has held for so many years and pays tribute to the way in which language is used throughout the poem. It also looks at the importance that the translation made by Heaney has in making the poem such an important literary work that it still endures.
The original introduction penned by Seamus Heaney, the Nobel Prize-winning poet, has also been included in the limited edition, and this looks at the linguistic relationship that Heaney had with the poem.
First Edition Collection of Robert Frosts Poetry Gifted to Modi
The Prime Minister of India has recently completed a three-day state visit to the USA, during which he was gifted a first-edition collection of works by the poet Robert Frost by President Joe Biden. The gift is being seen as somewhat emblematic given the stature of the poet in American literature; however, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was himself an admirer of Frost.
One of the most important American poets of the 20th century, Frost was awarded four Pulitzer Prizes. The collection that was gifted to Modi was an autographed copy of Collected Poems of Robert Frost. It was a first edition published in 1930.
Frost was recognised as a poet whose work was a true representation of the American way of life. It combined modernism and romanticism. His illustrious career spanned over five decades, and his literary influences included Robert Browning and William Shakespeare.
It is believed that Nehru was so fond of the works of Frost that he actually kept a copy of his poems by his bedside, with tthe last stanza of the poem Stopping by Woods heavily underlined. A friend of Nehru, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a poet, translate the poem into Hindu for Nehru.
Drake Announces Poetry Book
The rapper Drake has recently announced the release of his first poetry book. Titled “Titles Ruin Everything: A Stream of Consciousness.” The book is being released under his full name Aubrey Drake Graham and is co-written by Kenza Samir, his songwriting partner.
The announcement was made on Instagram, and fans were quick to note the QR code which appeared alongside the announcement. The code takes those who click on it to Drakes’s new Album, which has also just been released.
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