Beowulf: A Verse Adaptation With Young Readers In Mind

by Joshua Gray, Sean Yates (Illustrator), Alex Cigale (Introduction)

This adaptation of the Beowulf epic, written for a younger audience, preserves the Anglo-Saxon verse feel of the original text. Illustrations by Sean Yates enhance the reader's experience. "Joshua Gray's poetic re-telling of the Beowulf epic as a tale for children gets to the essence of the action with a use of modern English which is accessible and clear for young minds, listening while busily building their own image-worlds... I have the sense that this new text may well encourage very young listeners, years later (after their bedtime stories are a distant memory), to recall this tale with pleasure and to discover a vibrant curiosity to know more about the doings of Hrothgar, Grendel and Beowulf." -- Benjamin Bagby, Performer of Beowulf "Gray captures both the fearsomeness of the poem's monsters and the artful alliteration of its Anglo-Saxon origins...Hook the kids with this version, and hope that they will return to the longer poem in later years." -- Tod Linafelt, Georgetown University


"Gray's text reduces the story to a speedy series of adventures in the conquering of the three monsters with efficiency and some flair. Hrothgar's "sermon" gets boiled down to its don't let pride rule, when you're king you're responsible for more than just your fame." -- K.A. Laity


"The illustrations capture a dark mood of adventure; they're sufficiently gruesome though only suggestively so -- safe for parents, inviting for younger readers." -- K.A. Laity


This tender, immediate and powerful adaptation employs Anglo-Saxon verse to highlight the original language; each major scene of the epic is reduced to a stanza, and the illustrations enhance the story's action. Originally written for Gray's six-year-old son, the adaptation can be enjoyed by children of all ages.

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Joshua Gray was born in the mountains rural Northern Virginia, outside Washington DC. He grew up in Alexandria VA, two miles from the nation’s capital and spent most of his adult life in the suburbs of the city. He attended Warren Wilson College the mountains of western North Carolina, where he also spent the first few years of married life. Always in love with the mountains, he now lives in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India with his wife and two boys.

He has been published in many journals, including Poets and Artists, Mipoesias, Blind Man’s Rainbow, Front Range Review, Iconoclast, Zouch Magazine and many others. For two years he was the DC Poetry Examiner for Examiner.com where he wrote reviews of poetry collections by local poets as well as articles on the local poetry scene. He is active on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and many other social media sites.

His first book Beowulf: A Verse adaptation With Young Readers In Mind was written for his oldest son when he was six, but as the title implies, it can be enjoyed by an older audience, including adults. His book-length poem Principles of Belonging is based on true stories about his parents and parents-in-law, and is written using many different poetry forms, including some modernized ancient forms. His chapbook Mera Bharat is a collection of poems based on his experiences in India, and was published in 2014. In 2015 he published Steel Cut Oats, a collection of poems that honor the traditions of food from a cultural standpoint, rejecting the modern processed and unhealthy food industry.

Joshua Gray's poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize as well as Best of the Net.