{"title":"Maria Dahvana Headley","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaria Dahvana Headley\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a compelling blend of modern storytelling and reimagined classics. Her works, such as \u003cem\u003eBeowulf: A New Translation\u003c\/em\u003e, breathe fresh life into ancient tales, transforming epic poetry into accessible and exhilarating narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect imaginative fiction that explores themes of identity, conflict, and transformation with a vivid, lyrical style. Whether through retellings or original stories, Headley's writing captivates with its inventive approach and emotional depth.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"beowulf-by-maria-dahvana-headley-9781925713886","title":"Beowulf","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA New Statesman\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/em\u003e Book of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA new, feminist translation of \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e by the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA new, feminist translation of \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e by the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNearly twenty years after Seamus Heaney's translation of \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e—and fifty years after the translation that continues to torment high-school students around the world—there is a radical new verse interpretation of the epic poem by Maria Dahvana Headley, which brings to light elements never before translated into English.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. These familiar components of the epic poem are seen with a novelist's eye towards gender, genre, and history. \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e has always been a tale of entitlement and encroachment—of powerful men seeking to become more powerful and one woman seeking justice for her child—but this version brings new context to an old story. While crafting her contemporary adaptation, Headley unearthed significant shifts lost over centuries of translation; her \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e is one for the twenty-first century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'\u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e includes some tantalising snippets of \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e as translated by Headley. Now we have the full version, and it is electrifying... It is brash and belligerent, lunatic and invigorating, with passages of sublime poetry punctuated by obscenities and social-media shorthand... With a \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e defiantly of and for this historical moment, Headley reclaims the poem for her audience as well as for herself.'\u003cbr\u003e\n—Ruth Franklin, \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'An iconic work of early English literature comes in for up-to-the-minute treatment... Headley's language and pacing keep perfect track with the events she describes... giving the 3,182-line text immediacy without surrendering a bit of its grand poetry. Some purists may object to the small liberties Headley has taken with the text, but her version is altogether brilliant.' \u003cstrong\u003eSTARRED REVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n—Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'The author of the crazy-cool \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e-inspired novel \u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e tackles the Old English epic poem with a fierce new feminist translation that radically recontextualises the tale.'\u003cbr\u003e\n—Barbara VanDenburgh, \u003cem\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46342562676972,"sku":"9781925713886","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17464193482873.jpg?v=1743920295"},{"product_id":"the-mere-wife-by-maria-dahvana-headley-9781925713459","title":"The Mere Wife","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e is a fierce, feminist retelling of the classic tale of Beowulf by New York Times bestselling author Maria Dahvana Headley.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo those who live there, Herot Hall is a paradise. With picket fences, gabled buildings, and wildflowers that seed themselves in ordered rows, the suburb is a self-sustaining community, enclosed and secure. But to those who live secretly along its periphery, Herot Hall is a fortress guarded by an intense network of gates, surveillance cameras, and motion-activated lights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDylan and Gren live on opposite sides of the perimeter, neither boy aware of the barriers erected to keep them apart. For Dylan and his mother, Willa, life moves at a charmingly slow pace. They flit between mothers' groups, playdates, cocktail hours, and dinner parties. Gren lives with his mother, Dana, just outside the limits of Herot Hall. A former soldier, Dana didn't want Gren, didn't plan Gren, and doesn't know how she got Gren. But now that she has him, she's determined to protect him from a world that sees him only as a monster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Gren crosses the border into Herot Hall and runs off with Dylan, he sets up a collision between Dana's and Willa's worlds that echoes the Beowulf story—and gives sharp, startling currency to the ancient epic poem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA smart, tough modern flip of Beowulf.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Margaret Atwood\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHer prose is an exhilarating mixture of darkness and fire, striking the perfect balance between sparse and startlingly vivid ... There's real heart in \u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e; even in its most shocking, bloody moments, it's ultimately the moving story of one woman's desire to protect her child, and of that child's yearning for connection ... But its roots are coiled deep in the old earth and the dark water, the place that nightmares come from, and dreams too.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- The Irish Times\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe most surprising novel I've read this year ... Headley is the most fearsome warrior here, lunging and pivoting between ancient and modern realms, skewering class prejudices, defending the helpless and venturing into the dark crevices of our shameful fears. Someday \u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e may take its place alongside such feminist classics as \u003cem\u003eThe Wide Sargasso Sea\u003c\/em\u003e because in its own wicked and wickedly funny way it's just as insightful about how we make and kill our monsters.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- The Washington Post\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46533286363372,"sku":"9781925713459","price":34.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17459923482873.jpg?v=1749382386"},{"product_id":"beowulf-a-new-translation-by-maria-dahvana-headley-9780374110031","title":"Beowulf: A New Translation","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNamed one of the Best Poetry Books of 2021 by \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLonglisted for the 2021 National Translation Award in Poetry. Picked for Kirkus Reviews' Best Fiction in Translation of 2020. Named a Book of the Year by NPR, Vox, and \u003cem\u003eThe New Statesman\u003c\/em\u003e. Picked for Loyalty Books' Holiday List.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA new, feminist translation of \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e by the author of the much-buzzed-about novel \u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Brash and belligerent, lunatic and invigorating, with passages of sublime poetry punctuated by obscenities and social-media shorthand.\" — Ruth Franklin, \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"The author of the crazy-cool Beowulf-inspired novel \u003cem\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/em\u003e tackles the Old English epic poem with a fierce new feminist translation that radically recontextualizes the tale.\" — Barbara VanDenburgh, \u003cem\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNearly twenty years after Seamus Heaney's translation of \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e—and fifty years after the translation that continues to torment high-school students around the world—there is a radical new verse translation of the epic poem by Maria Dahvana Headley. This translation brings to light elements that have never before been translated into English, recontextualising the binary narrative of monsters and heroes into a tale in which the two categories often entwine, justice is rarely served, and dragons live among us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. The familiar elements of the epic poem are seen with a novelist's eye toward gender, genre, and history. \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e has always been a tale of entitlement and encroachment, powerful men seeking to become more powerful, and one woman seeking justice for her child, but this version brings new context to an old story. While crafting her contemporary adaptation of \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e, Headley unearthed significant shifts lost over centuries of translation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47642797277420,"sku":"9780374110031","price":48.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780374110031-beowulf-a-new-translation.jpg?v=1779157948"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/maria-dahvana-headley.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}