Storytelling: Written

A new verse rendering of the great epic of ancient Mesopotamia, one of the oldest works in Western Literature. Ferry makesGilgamesh available in the kind of energetic and readable translation that Robert Fitzgerald and Richard Lattimore have provided for.

The Argonautica is the dramatic story of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece and his relations with the dangerous Colchian princess, Medea. The only extant Greek epic poem to bridge the gap between Homer and late antiquity, it is a major product of the brilliant world of the Ptolemaic courtat Alexandria, written by Apollonius of Rhodes in the 3rd century BC. Apollonius explores many of the fundamental aspects of life in a highly original way: love, deceit, heroism, human ignorance of the diven, the limits of science. This volume offers the first scholarly translation into English prose for many years, combining readability with accuracy and anattention to detail that will appeal to readers both with and without Greek. `Based on a deep understanding of the text, this translation, with informative notes and an excellent introduction, will bring Apollonius to the audience he deserves....' (TLS)

The year is 1348. The Black Death has begun to ravage Europe. Ten young Florentines--seven women and three men--escape the plague-infested city and retreat to the countryside around Fiesole. At their leisure in this isolated and bucolic setting, they spend ten days telling each other stories--tales of romance, tragedy, comedy, and farce--one hundred in all. The result, called by one critic "the greatest short story collection of all time" (Leonard Barkan, Princeton University) is a rich and entertaining celebration of the medley of medieval life.Witty, earthy, and filled with bawdy irreverence, the one hundred stories of The Decameron offer more than simple escapism; they are also a life-affirming balm for trying times. The Decameron is a joyously comic book that has earned its place in world literature not just because it makes us laugh, but more importantly because it shows us how essential laughter is to the human condition.Published on the 700th anniversary of Boccaccio's birth, Wayne A. Rebhorn's new translation of The Decameron introduces a generation of readers to this "rich late-medieval feast" in a "lively, contemporary, American-inflected English" (Stephen Greenblatt, Harvard University) even as it retains the distinctly medieval flavor of Boccaccio's rhetorically expressive prose.An extensive introduction provides useful details about Boccaccio's historical and cultural milieu, the themes and particularities of the text, and the lines of influence flowing into and out of this towering monument of world literature.

This translation of a Chinese classic (14th Century) is the epic tale of a band of patriots in China during the latter part of Sung Dynasty and is considered by most to be one to the three or four greatest novels in Chinese literature. Shui hun chuan (water margin chronicles) is the adventure of a band of 108 outlaws (105 men and 3 women) struggling to help the Emperor rid himself of the despotic prime minister. Like Robin Hood, the bandit kings refer to themselves as the gallant fraternity. They come out to harass the authorities and to attempt to solicit followers to overthrow a corrupt government in the name of the Emperor. Chocked full of ghosts, innkeepers who make hamburgers of their guests, giants of superhuman strength, beautiful women in distress, wily intellectuals and crafty merchants, this is a timeless tale of love and adventure.

The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace - the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor's consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki's fellow ladies-in-waiting and drunken courtiers, and telling remarks about the timid Empress and her powerful father, Michinaga. The Diary is also a work of great subtlety and intense personal reflection, as Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology - her pragmatic observations always balanced by an exquisite and pensive melancholy.