Tuesday May 24th at 7:00 pm

Wrestling with Beowulf at the Library

Remember when the outstanding storyteller Sebastian Lockwood began his Beowulf performances with one in Hancock? Remember that Francelia Clark worked with him on the original language from her career specialty, which was this Old English poem? They’re at it again, but deeper and more fully. Now they are translating the whole epic, line by line, into Beowulf: A Storyteller’s Version. They want you to come and hear the pleasure of working with this poem. They are making choices from the best edition for translators, as well as from the most artistic rendition by Seamus Heaney. Sebastian tests how the new lines work by telling them. You will hear how an oral storyteller can bring a work alive. You may also hear either arguing or ecstasy, as these two translators uncover meanings and effects. Almost everything about this epic is a puzzle. Two Anglo-Saxon monks were writing down the poet’s words in a monastery in about 1000 AD, just before the Norman invasion that would change their world. The poet was telling an old story, masterfully. He was alternating between pagan and Christian values; he was celebrating, scaring, teaching, mourning. And so you hear Old Testament and the Walking Dead, and sharp talk between European tribal leaders from 500 years before. Come join Francelia and Sebastian as they work through this experience! Free and open to all.