Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry: Among Other Histories

R. B. Parkinson, renowned as one of the leading experts in the interpretation of ancient Egyptian literature, brings an innovative and theoretically–informed account of how three of the most famous ancient Egyptian poems have been read and perceived across the ages.

By considering the evolving landscapes of the poems and developing modern perspectives, Parkinson breathes new life into the complex literary culture of the Middle Kingdom. Parkinson first imagines the experience of an Egyptian audience enjoying the poems as they were perhaps performed around 1840 bc. In the book′s second section, he draws on recent discoveries to discuss the poems early manuscripts and then traces their transmission as classic texts during later periods. Finally, Parkinson considers the poems′ modern reception by academics and other audiences, including Hollywood.

Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry is a passionate homage to poetry s power to acquire and engage new readers and readings through 4,000 years.

List of Illustrations.

Preface.

Note on Cited Texts.

Chronology.

Part I Performing Poetry.

1. Visitors in Egypt.

2. Reciting Two Poems at Abu (c. 1840 BC).

3. A Performance.

Part II Reading Old Poems.

4. Writing at the Southern City (c. 1780 BC).

5. A Certain Provincial Scribe (c. 1780 BC).

6. A Library at the Southern City (c. 1680 BC).

7. Imperial Classics in the New Kingdom and Beyond (c. 1550 500 BC).

Part III Studying Ancient Texts.

8. Some Modern Readers (AD 1836 on).

9. Among Other Histories.

Appendix: Translations of the 12th–Dynasty Papyri.

Abbreviations.

References.

Index

R. B. Parkinson is a curator in the Department of Ancient Egypt & Sudan, the British Museum, and regularly teaches in England and Germany. His publications include The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant (1991), the prize–winning Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940 1640 bc (1997), and Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt (2002).

"Parkinson′s thickly textured readings are an interesting example of how to make this material more
accessible to nontechnical readers without sacrificing accuracy or detail." (Common Knowledge, 2012)

"A thoughtful and insightful volume on the Egyptian poems, specifically, and on ancient literature in general. ... All will agree that this ′love letter′ is a valuable addition to the field." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, January 2010)

"The author, one of the foremost scholars of ancient Egyptian literature, provides translations of many poems and stories but also helps to bring them to life by showing how they were part of the lives of everyday ancient Egyptians." (Ancient Egypt, September 2009)