The Poetic Edda Audiobook By Jackson Crawford cover art

The Poetic Edda

Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes

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The Poetic Edda

By: Jackson Crawford
Narrated by: Jackson Crawford
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About this listen

"The poems of the Poetic Edda have waited a long time for a Modern English translation that would do them justice. Here it is at last (Odin be praised!) and well worth the wait. These amazing texts from a thirteenth-century Icelandic manuscript are of huge historical, mythological, and literary importance, containing the lion's share of information that survives today about the gods and heroes of pre-Christian Scandinavians, their unique vision of the beginning and end of the world, etc.

"Jackson Crawford's modern versions of these poems are authoritative and fluent and often very gripping. With their individual headnotes and complementary general introduction, they supply today's readers with most of what they need to know in order to understand and appreciate the beliefs, motivations, and values of the Vikings." (Dick Ringler, professor emeritus of English and Scandinavian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison)

©2015 Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Europe European Literary History & Criticism Poetry Inspiring Funny Scary Scandinavia Icelandic Sagas
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What listeners say about The Poetic Edda

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Great!

After reading a print version of another translation, I wanted to listen to the Poetic Edda to understand it better. This translation was not only a fantastic listen, it was very easy to follow.

This is one of my new favorite audio books

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4 people found this helpful

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I could listen to Jackson Crawford read all day

I loved listening to these old stories. Dr. Crawford has the sexiest voice! Near the end he does the Hávamál as told through his grandfather's voice. It was excellent.

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Great translation. Classic story

This is an excellent translation. Turned into Modern English, not that old-fashioned "thee and thou"stuff you hear in a lot of translations. Well narrated by the author himself

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Good, Except the Last Chapter

Overall this translation is pretty good. Every story is preceded by an explanation of the translation, in the cultural nuances as well as discrepancies, and those explanations help a lot in the listener's understanding. The only part that was questionable was the last chapter, where the author made the baffling choice a fake a southern drawl, poorly, and updated a poem to apply to guns and raising cattle. That whole section seemed tacky and unnecessary, but it doesn't detract much from the experience as a whole (as long as you don't mind losing the immersion in Viking literature).

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wonderful!!!

I really enjoyed this reading. I've tried to listen to this by different readers and couldn't. are it through. This reading was perfect. Jackson Crawford is such a well learned man. He has a smooth voice thats easy to listen to and he knows exactly what he is talking about.

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Interesting

This book is just read word for word, no performance. But if you are interested in Norse legends and folklore you will find this book interesting.

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Absolutely Amazing!

I absolutely loved it! For one that loves Norse mythology, this is a must listen to.

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good stuff

loved it. helping me learn more and more about my religion. got more sagas to read next

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excellent

loved it. very fluid and easy to listen to. would suggest this to my friends

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more than I bargained for

This is a real one stop shop for any beginner to the subject and has a lot of depth. I'll definitely have to read it over a few times in order to fully osmosize the material, and after reading the Havamal and the complimentary "Cowboy's Havamal" I have decided I need paper copies to keep near me at all times.

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