Told by Firelight in Timbered Halls: A Wordhord of Alliterative Verse - PREORDER

PREORDER - EXPECTED TO SHIP IN SEPTEMBER

Sharpening his skills as an alliterative poet, Adam Bolivar offers a follow-up to A Wheel of Ravens: a new collection of Old English-style alliterative verse even more faithful to the metrical demands of the ancient form in which Beowulf and the Poetic Edda were composed. Although the grammar of Modern English differs greatly from the terse inflections of Old English, Bolivar has set himself the task of proving that the strictures of traditional alliterative verse can be adapted to contemporary language, a feat he accomplishes with determination and verve.

So, hwæt! Hearken to (or silently read, if you wish) this darkly fantastic cycle of alliterative poems about gods and giants, heroes and monsters, and ettin-slaying Géac (pronounced yawk)—distant ancestor of the guileful Jack of tale and legend—and warm yourself by the fire flickering in the darkness of a long-forgotten mead-hall, echoing with the strum of taut-stretched lyrestrings.

Of Géac Yoresung    I yonder have heard,
Told by firelight    in timbered halls,
The cunning slayer    of cold terrors,
Earthstepping earl,    earning glory,
His blade bloody    and banter spry,
In fens faring    to fell monsters…

Trade Paperback - 6" x 9"
Approx. 130 pages
Illustrated with classic mythological art
Foreword by Frank Coffman
Afterword: A Brief Guide to Alliterative Verse

This is the work of a master craftsman, the owner of a true word hoard which he freely unlocks. […] The verse is wrought as finely as a Dark Age sword, made for action and performance and not merely for the glass case of a page. I have chosen already the selections that I shall recite myself around seasonal campfires.” —RONALD HUTTON, Author of Pagan Britain

“Much like A Wheel of Ravens, Bolivar's new book offers readers an innovative re-telling of Norse mythology and folkloric “Jack” tales .... Bolivar is a meticulous student of Old English meter. Watching his growth with the form is a marvel.” —DENNIS WILSON WISE, Editor, Speculative Poetry and the Modern Alliterative Revival: A Critical Anthology 

"Told by Firelight is, indeed, a wordhord. Like a dragon’s hoard of gold, or a Goddess’ amber tears, these poems flicker and shimmer, inexorably drawing our attention, compelling us to come closer. To sit. To listen. To remember: old names, old words, old stories still true. So pull up a chair, light your hearth, pour yourself a glass of mead, and revel in this hoard—a poet’s, or a wyrm’s, truest treasure." —REBECCA BUCHANAN, Editor of Eternal Haunted Summer

Contents:

Foreword by Frank Coffman
Introduction: A Purist's Redemption
Géac Yoresung
The Contemplation of Dust
Outland Juggler
Scídblæd
The Golden Apples
The Grey Hare
Bane of Barguests
The Dréag
Ælfablót
The Owlmoot
Gangewifre
The Blue Ettin
The Lay of Lúca
Géacspell
In Glastonbury’s Walls
Grim Guise
Lúca Unbound
The Helrún’s Hoard
The Lyre of Lúca
The Black Shepherd
Keenwitted Kin
Grim King of Ghosts
Lipscarred Lúca
The Phantom Queen
Sweartsweven
Yulesong
The Yulefather
A Hoary Riddle
Mistletoe
Dracacyn
The Wolf Month
The Final Flyting
The Yawning Gap
Elfshine
The Jester’s Gibe
The Cold Grave
The Ettin’s Riddles
The Outlander
Names of the Hare
Pink Moon
Thunor’s Oak
Géac in Hel
Géac of the Lantern
Afterword: A Brief Guide to Alliterative Verse