Whale

Hardcover and paperback copies available in limited quantities 

Marked by the characteristic virtuosity of one of this country’s most distinguished poets and collected in a single volume for the first time, these translations include selections from Beowulf and The Middle English Bestiary, as well as poems by Baudelaire, Char, Akhmatova, Yevtushenko, Brodksy and Bandeira. A Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Richard Wilbur’s many awards include the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.  

This is a first edition, first printing. Book Condition: Fine. This copy has been archived at BOA Editions, Ltd., since its publication. Unread. Ideal collector’s copy. Actual cover design may vary.

“The Albatross”

Often, for pastime, mariners will ensnare
The albatross, that vast sea-bird who sweeps
On high companionable pinion where
Their vessel glides upon the bitter deeps.

Torn from his native space, this captive king
Flounders upon the deck in stricken pride,
And pitiably lets his great white wing
Drag like a heavy paddle at his side.

This rider of winds, how awkward he is, and weak!
How droll he seems, who was all grace of late!
A sailor pokes a pipestem into his beak;
Another, hobbling, mocks his trammeled gait.

The Poet is like this monarch of the clouds,
Familiar of storms, of stars, and of all high things;
Exiled on earth amidst its hooting crowds,
He cannot walk, borne down by giant wings. 

Publication Date: January 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-918526-33-7

© BOA Editions, Ltd. 1994