Passwords: David Ferry on The Epic of Gilgamesh

Poet and translator David Ferry, author of Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse, shares his translation of this great epic of ancient Mesopotamia. Ferry discusses the poetic and narrative intensity of this classic work, considered to be the oldest written story on earth.

Part of Poets House’s 25th Anniversary Program Series, tracing 3,000 years of poetry – from Gilgamesh to The Beats. Over the course of the 2011-2012 program year, we will present programs that examine our rich and varied poetic history, from oral traditions through early verse forms, the rise of lyric poetry and the advent of Modernism, to the myriad poetic voices that are defining the 21st century.