The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics)

The Poetic Edda is a collection of stories from Norse mythology and history that were written in poetic form. The stories contained within this book are both entertaining and provide advice for life. While not a bible of the Norse, it is easy to understand how people would want to see this as an equivalent. This is my favorite translation of The Poetic Edda but I have not read every translation. So I've been holding off writing a review but I'll go ahead and get this out of the way since I'll likely be unable to access every translation. I first heard about Jackson Crawford from his YouTube channel and I liked his videos on Old Norse and Norse mythology. He seems extremely knowledgeable on the subject. I would suggest you read about discussions on the various translations to get a more accurate comparison instead of using my following opinion. I didn't care for Lee Hollander's translation but his is generally very favorable and popular, for a very long time too. I thought Jackson Crawford's translation was an improvement since that time. Adam Bellows, Olive Bray, and Benjamin Thorpe all have translations that are too old for modern English but interesting to compare with. Carolyne Larrington reads pleasantly but I did not like the way she changes names too much into English, but I have not read her newest edition, which interests me since she includes a poem called Svipdagsmál. Even Jackson Crawford's Poetic Edda removed the accented letters to simplify the spelling of names which really bothers me because it doesn't make sense in English to remove those marks. The glossary of names in the end of the book is nice but I wish it had an additional etymological approach to the names. From the translations I have not read, there are a few that people are very much in favor of. So there are plenty of things I would do differently if I wrote my own translation (which I won't because I don't know Old Norse) but this has been my favorite translation so far. Jackson Crawford's The Saga of the Volsungs is better when it comes to keeping name pronunciation. There was a recent translation of the Hávamál that I found better than Jackson Crawford's translation of it within The Poetic Edda, but Jackson Crawford has his Wanderers Hávamál coming out soon so I have that to look forward to. The book is physically very appealing with a very well printed cover full of rich colors under a glossy coat. The paper used is a bright white paper and the text is printed cleanly and with enough ink. The font size is good and the page margins are of excellent size. The glue binding is well done and the spine is strong. So for its size and quality, in addition to the great content, there is a lot in this book for a very good price. I might come back to this review later in life if I ever got real serious about comparing the different translations so I can add a more in-depth analysis. I don't think there is one best translation of this book but this one is better than most in many ways.

It is a huge undertaking to look at a centuries-old collection of stories in a long-forgotten tongue, stroke one's chin, and think 'I'll bet I can make that better'. I'm of the opinion that Dr Crawford has succeeded. There may be more 'accurate' versions, based on transliterating word-for-word, and there are certainly dustier volumes if that's how you like 'em. However, I think this translation is the best yet: it's poetic; it's nuanced and colorful; and perhaps most remarkably, it's readable by the average person. Our author manages to render these stories in a way that feels alive and lacks the torturous mental acrobatics one sometimes finds when reading translations of ancient literature into modern language. When I bought this book, I made an evening of it: a wee dram (mead was, alas, in short supply); a roaring fire (okay, it was the Fireplace For Your Home channel on Netflix); and an old interest in the ancient stories told around real fires on long northern nights. I felt myself transported to a mead-hall, enraptured by a chanting skald, my joint of meat going co…okay, look, I read it super fast. It's engrossing and the time passed quickly! The material itself is dense in a way that invites re-reading; as easily as I might have flown through the book, it requires multiple passes to truly absorb. I don't say this often or lightly, but this is a book I will enjoy reading more than once. As a special bonus, you get Crawford's own 'Cowboy Hávamál', a retelling of the original through the voice of his no-nonsense, tough-as-nails grandfather. I promise it's one of the best parts of this book; well-worth the price of admission by itself. tl;dr - Buy it. You won't be disappointed.

Great works by Dr. Jackson Crawford,the direct translations are precise and easy to understand. I have found these books easy to read and understand the poems and lives of the Elder Gods and Heroes of old. I own the pocket Voluspa and Havamal for the troops which is a Bellows Translation and though Dr. Crawford's translations are to the point, I like trying to make sense of the Old English translations of this little book. After all, everything in life is just an Interpretation. Thank you for these books and I highly recommend them to anyone and everyone.

Very easy to read translation

I've been looking for a good translation and this one came highly recommended!

These stories were fun to read through. He has nice intros to give you overviews of each story. I suppose I will take his word that the translations are accurate :P

nice product

I love the norse mythological stories and the wisdom therein, but, I don’t understand why he added the Havamal and the Volsungs, which I was gonna read after, like why even have those books if you’re gonna add them all into this one book? But, other than that, it’s been a good tootin’ book y'all. 🤠

the book is just made in perfect way, one of my best choices by far, I totally love it! recommended!

Best translation to read.

I really like it!

The hero poems were actually the most compelling and fun to read, since most basically tell stories about the same family in chronological order.

Magical and full of wonderful insight. Essential to anyone who wishes to follow the old ways