GILGAMESH
Gilgamesh: the life of a poem
Princeton University Press, 2019; pb 2021
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the most ancient poem known to exist, dating back to about 2000 BCE.
It is also a classic that has re-entered the canon, and in his illuminating account of the poem, Michael Schmidt pays special attention to the way contemporary poets have encountered and re-made it.
‘A brilliant book brilliantly executed. Michael Schmidt’s unparalleled love for poetry, ancient and modern, brings to life the continuing vitality and importance of the world’s earliest surviving poem, with fascinating new insights on every page. A real treasure.’
– Ruth Padel, author of Darwin: A Life in Poems
‘An insightful, stimulating book sure to breathe new life into the would-be immortal king.’
– Publishers Weekly
‘This is a wonderfully readable book, sure-footed in its scholarship but hip and occasionally hilarious in its tone. It makes the story of Gilgamesh and his beloved friend Enkidu seem both near to us and extremely far away. I’d recommend this dazzling study of the history of the poem not just to poets and theatre people, but to anyone who loves the grand old stories that have survived the all-shattering chaos of history and still manage to find their way into our libraries and our hearts.’
– David Gullette, the arts fuse (Boston)
‘The outward levity of his tone and the agility with which he hops from theme to theme, from narrative point to narrative point, are signs of a profound and affectionate ease with the text and its world. Enkidu aside, the King of Uruk couldn’t wish for a better friend.’
Kirsty Jane Falconer, Times Literary Supplement