The true nature of English poetry
In his handwritten book "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight A Translation" Michael Gibson has achieved what he thinks may be the ‘closest’ version yet of this fourteenth century masterpiece. Then, in a companion book that is also handwritten and is called "Truth, Dare, Kiss… Cheat!" he tells how he addressed aspects of the tale that had long baffled him, and of ‘falling into’ a surprising new ‘perspective’ on it.
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In 2007 Simon Armitage published a translation of the fourteenth century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In 2018 he published a Revised Edition. In a “NOTE” on this new version he says: There are no radical changes, particularly in the tone and attitude of the translation and its emphasis on alliteration;
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Archived news from michaelgeorgegibson.org
Continue readingArchived content from michaelgeorgegibson.org
Continue readingHere are audio-clips from a CD of ‘The Wanderer’ in the original Old English and in my own translation. The music is my own; the ravens were themselves:-
Old English
Translation 1
The translation was in the main got up by me some twenty years ago as a part of my pursuit of a comprehensive answer to the question, ‘What are the rhythms of English Poetry?’.
The TE(P)P is an actual Party formally registered with and has the Party Reference RRP 4755321 The Party’s Leader, Nominating Officer and Treasurer is Michael George Gibson The Party’s Other Specified Office Holder is Ms. Dorli Nauta who is designated The Party’s Helpmate The Party was established with the following statement of its constitution: The Party’s Manifesto –
Continue readingThis website provides an ongoing collection on resources, articles and critical rants regarding the true nature of English poetry over 1,300 years. It addresses the question ‘What is poetry?’ It deals primarily with matters of metre and rhythm in poetry, and with ‘free verse’, which I consider to be a different sort of writing.
Continue readingI was born and raised in Sussex. My father was an ordained clergyman and writer, my mother once accompanied the American singer Paul Robeson, on the piano. I have two older sisters and a younger brother. We were brought up both in a Sussex country parish and within an organisation first founded by our father in South London in the 1930’s.
Continue readingI am a maker of poems, tunes and songs. I am also a performer of English poetry – from the present day back to its earliest written beginnings in Anglo-Saxon times. I deliver English poetry so far as possible in its original tomes, dialects and rhythms.
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