Sophus Helle has written an outstanding and extraordinary translation of the The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest written story. This book is a companion, by the world's first named author. This is Enheduana, the priestess daughter of King Sargon of Akkad. She lived at a time of profound transformation, constant revolt, violent gods, a 100 year drought about to strike the known world. Homer (if there was one Homer) was not to begin writing for another 1500 years.
We have here the Hymn to Inana and the 42 Temple Hymns. We hear of abundance, how the net connects people and nature, how the storyteller is seen as a weaver of text and textile. Enheduana writes of transformation, agency, hope.
The complete poems of the priestess Enheduana, the world's first known author, newly translated from the original Sumerian
"Helle's translation feels urgent, incandescent, stripped of academic cladding. . . . The growing popularity of Enheduana gives all of us readers a chance to discover another lineage-and to bring this poet and her imagination flashing back to life again."-Nilanjana Roy, Financial Times
Enheduana was a high priestess and royal princess who lived in Ur, in what is now southern Iraq, about 2300 BCE. Not only does Enheduana have the distinction of being the first author whose name we know,…
An outstanding book luminous with language and emotion. Martin Shaw says the animate world demands our attention, we just have to lean in, listen, decipher the land's hedgerow gossip. This book is about story. About myth too. A myth is the network of our connections, to nature, to people. This voice is the kind we rarely find. It is charged, full of secrets and symbols. In the face of climate and nature crises, here is a book on agency, creativity and togetherness.
“Here is a rosary of soaring myth, gripping narrative, and deep wisdom, all told with breathtaking verve that enchants and sweeps us along, from first word to last. A superb, inspiring read.” —GABOR MATÉ, author of The Myth of Normal
From "one of the greatest storytellers we have" (Robert Bly), an urgent invitation to allow the oldest stories—and the Greatest Story—to reshape our own.
There’s an old Irish belief that if you aren’t wrapped in a cloak of story you will be unprepared for what the world will hurl at you. You…
This is a fine new translation by Yasmine Seale of the classic tales in Alf Layla wa Layla: One Thousand Nights and One. This is a beautiful book to hold and read. Fabulously illustrated too. The stories are of wonder and astonishing things. We hear of the storytellers, of Sheherazade who saves the city by telling stories that keep the cruel king wanting more from the next night's telling. We hear of stories inside stories.
What Sheherazade's been doing is this. Stories begin with the appearance of destiny. This thing will happen. It’s fate, it’s inevitable. But in the story comes a shift, a rupture. One anomaly causes another. Before we know it, that old destiny’s disappeared. She’s been creating tales that cause hunger. And now she does this sequentially, for one thousand and one nights. She rides that magic carpet into a new future. She’s not just brave. She’s transformed the world with story.
Starting in 1999 with the publication of The Definitive Annotated Alice, the Norton and Liveright annotated books have become the leading series of classic, illustrated works in the English language. The long-anticipated publication of The Annotated Arabian Nights extends this tradition with a strikingly modern translation-the first of Shahrazad's tales into English by a woman-as well as erudite notes that will illuminate the stories for both dedicated readers and newcomers. Yasmine Seale's translations from both Arabic and French capture the musicality and rhythm of the Nights' poetry and prose, while Paulo Lemos Horta's annotations wrestle with the extraordinarily complex origins…
We’re deep in a hole. Story with a swerve gets us out.
It’s the shape of all our lives. Up-down, down-up. And this slantwise story, it creates hope and intent. This book contains thousand-year old story shapes for the modern era. Great transformations, a new cast, the power of togetherness. A book of eighty-two wondrous worldwide tales and koans. Linked by a common narrative arc. Each story grows out of the distinct assets of place and people, culture and nature.
You and me. How about it? This is how climate and nature recovery starts the leap into a world of plenty. A world of kindness and connection. A butterfly flaps its wings. And changes whole earth and social systems.
Good story is not just a hiding place. It’s a finding place.
This book: it’s all about living on abundant earth.
