Saint Lucia (West Indies) Published: 1990 Derek Walcott Omeros Omeros (1990) upends the conventions of canonical Western epics by turning Caribbean fishermen into twentieth century heroes. In its titular allusion to Homer as well as in its topical and formal...
United States First publication date: 2016 Frederick Turner, Apocalypse: An Epic Poem Frederick Turner’s third epic poem Apocalypse (2016) opens dramatically in the year 2067 with a colossal windstorm sweeping across the North Sea, causing...
Madagascar First transcribed in 1830. Ibonia Madagascar’s Ibonia is a tale of an immaculate conception, a fiercely contested betrothal, and a bittersweet triumph. The epic was orally transmitted until 1830 when it was first written down in Malagasy. This occurred...
East Africa (Swahili) Oral tradition: 9th-13th century CEFirst transcribed: c. 18th century CEThe Epic of Liyongo by Muhammad Bin Bakari Kijumwa: 1913 The Epic of Liyongo Like many African epics, such as Sunjata (Niane 2006; Innes 1974; Suso...
West Africa (the Sudanese empire of Old Mali) Oral tradition: c. 13th century CEWritten summaries (Arabic): before 1890Translations (French, German): 1890-1898First line-by-line transcription: 1967 Epic of Sun-Jata* Sun-Jata (Son-Jara, Sundiata) was the...
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