LOCAL>> Author Event: New translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh by Sophus Helle

Sophus Helle joins us on Zoom for a conversation about his new translation of Gilgamesh (Yale U.P.). This talk and Q&A follows our Gilgamesh group read.

“Sophus Helle’s new translation… [is] a thrilling, enchanting, desperate thing to read, moving from questing adventure to surging grief and the confrontation with the reality of death. . . . With a clear-eyed and informative introduction and five essays that provide context and insight into the epic, the book Helle has made feels both magic and deeply, lastingly human.”—Nina MacLaughlin, Boston Globe

This free event will be streamed on Zoom.

About Gilgamesh
A poem for the ages, freshly and accessibly translated by an international rising star, bringing together scholarly precision and poetic grace

Gilgamesh is a Babylonian story about love between men, loss and grief, the confrontation with death; the destruction of nature; insomnia and restlessness, finding peace in one’s community, the voice of women, the folly of gods, heroes, and monsters—and more. Translating directly from the Akkadian, Sophus Helle offers a literary translation that reproduces the original epic’s poetic effects, including its succinct clarity and enchanting cadence. Millennia after its composition, Gilgamesh continues to speak to us in myriad ways.

About Sophus Helle
Sophus Helle is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Freie Universität Berlin. He previously translated Gilgamesh into Danish with his father, the poet Morten Søndergaard.