This spring Penn Press will release "Beowulf" and Other Old English Poems, edited and translated by Craig Williamson with a foreword by noted medieval scholar and J. R. R. Tolkien expert Tom Shippey. "Craig Williamson's Beowulf is superior, both in truth to the original and in readability, to any other version of the poem now available," says Shippey.
Since so many of us at Penn Press staff have Beowulf on our minds, we couldn't help noticing the buzz in crafting and literature circles about a sock knitting pattern inspired by the famous Anglo-Saxon poem. "Hwaet!," which is available from the online knitting store the Sanguine Gryphon, is a challenging design that inspires knitters and medieval culture lovers alike.
To celebrate Craig Williamson's brilliant and meticulous translation of Beowulf, Penn Press is offering translations of the "Hwaet!" knitting pattern as a raffle prize. People who subscribe to our email list at this year's Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America and at the International Congress on Medieval Studies will have a chance to win a pair of custom handknit socks or a scarf decorated with the opening lines of Beowulf.
Here's a preview of the sample sock in progress.
We'll be sure to keep you posted on the progress of the sock, and on the release of Craig Williamson's "Beowulf" and Other Old English Poems.
