Paul Deane

@rhunedhel

Editor of Forgotten Ground Regained (), a website devoted to modern English alliterative verse. If you like Beowulf, or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, or Tolkien's Fall of Arthur or Sigurd and Gudrun, you're in for a treat.

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Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

And of course, to cap it all off I'm selling paperbacks of @denniswise.bsky.social's "Speculative Poetry and the Modern Alliterative Revival: A Critical Anthology" Literally more original alliterative poems by more poets than any books since Gutenberg invented the printing press. #NYCPoetryFestival

Dennis Wilson Wise, Speculative Poetry and the Modern Alliterative Revival: A Critical Anthology

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

And another unexpected collection of alliterative verse: Jeff Sypeck's beautifully illustrated "The Beallsville Calendar". Also available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the #NYCPoetryFestival. #poetrysky #alliterative #poetry #NYCPoFest #NYC #poetrylovers #festival #poetrycommunity

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

@adambolivar.bsky.social has a second collection of alliterative poems out recently! Check out his "Told by Firelight in Timbered Halls". Available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the #NYCPoetryFestival. #poetrysky #NYCPoFest #NYC #poetry #festival #alliterative #poems #poetrylovers

Adam Bolivar, Told by Firelight in Timbered Halls: A Wordhord of Alliterative Verse

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

For a collection of alliterative poems in the Old English style check out @adambolivar.bsky.social's "Wheel of Ravens" Available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the #NYCPoetryFestival #alliterative #poetry #poetrysky #OldEnglish #Anglo-Saxon #medievalsky #poetrylovers #poetrycommunity

Adam Bolivar: A Wheel of Ravens, alliterative verse in the Old English style.

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

For an alliterative retelling of one of the great medieval legends, check out Matthew Brennan's "The Sea-Crossing of Saint Brendan". Also available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the #NYCPoetryFestival. #alliterative #poetry #medievalsky #poetrysky #epic #poem #SaintBrendan #voyage

Matthew Brennan, The Sea-Crossing of Saint Brendan

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

Another wonderful original alliterative poem: Mary Thaler's "Ulfhildr". Imagine it as Eowyn in the Viking North, with children to protect and a dead husband to avenge. Also available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the #NYCPoetryFestival. #alliterative #poetry #poetrysky #poetrylovers

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

And here's a slim book of lyrical #alliterative #ecopoetry: Judd Bemmel's "Spruce Took Aim with an Inky Spear", a collection of poems celebrating a variety of tree species, set firmly in their mythic context. Also available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the #NYCPoetryFestival #poetry

Judd Bemmel, Spruce Took Aim with an Inky Spear: Tree Poems in Alliterative Verse

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

But let me not neglect ORIGINAL #alliterative #poetry. Here's a book that provides an alliterative take on stories from the #Bible: Kathryn Ann Hill's "The Song of Daniel and Other Poems". Also available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the #NYCPoetryFestival... #NYC #pofest #poetrysky

Kathryn Ann Hill, The Song of Saint Daniel and Other Poems

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

How about another less-known medieval alliterative poem, Jeff Sypeck's "The Tale of Charlemagne and Ralph the Collier"? Also available at Forgotten Ground Regained's book table at the New York City Poetry Festival. #NYCPoetryFestival #NYCPofest #NYC #poetry #festival #poetrysky #alliterative #poems

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

I'll also be selling less-known #translations of #medieval #alliterative #poems at my #NYCPoetryFestival book table! How about Michael Smith's translation of "The Romance of William and the Werewolf"? #poetrysky #medievalsky #poetrylovers #poetrycommunity #NYCPoFest #NYC #poetry #festival #poems

Michael Smith, translator, The Romance of William and the Werewolf

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

Of course, no book table with alliterative poetry is complete without a #Beowulf translation! I've chosen Frederick Rebsamen's alliterative version of Beowulf. No currently the most fashionable version, but very good if to get a good sense of the mouth-feel of the original #NYCPoetryFestival #poems

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

And before I forget it, speaking of translations, I've got another translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I'll be offering at my book table at the NYC Poetry Festival -- @mythicalbritain.bsky.social's beautifully illustrated translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Michael Smith, Translator, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

You also see #Tolkien's love of the #Volsung Saga, one of the classics of Germanic legend, in his own #alliterative version of the tale of #Sigurd & #Gudrun, also edited by Christopher Tolkien. You can get that too, tomorrow and Sunday at my book table at the NYC Poetry Festival. #NYCPoetryFestival

JRR Tolkien, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

#Tolkien's Fall of #Arthur riffs off the medieval alliterative Morte D'Arthur, which is available in a beautiful translation by @mythicalbritain.bsky.social. Also available tomorrow and Sunday at my book table at the NYC Poetry Festival. #NYCPoetryFestival #NYCPoFest #NYC #alliterative #poetry

King Arthur's Death: The Alliterative Morte Arthure, translated and illustrated by Michael Smith

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

More recently we've had the privilege of reading #Tolkien's Fall of #Arthur--his take on the classic tale of the Morte D'Arthur, thanks to his son the late Christopher Tolkien's indefatigable editing. This too will be at my book table at the NYC Poetry Festival #NYCPoetryFestival #NYCPofest #poetry

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

The first hint of how deep #Tolkien's love of #alliterative poetry ran came with the publication of the Lays of #Beleriand, which contain his attempts to write the #Silmarillion in #alliterative verse, drafted in the 1920s. This too will be at my book table at the NYC Poetry Festival. #NYCPofest

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

Of course, Tolkien also translated Sir Gawain and the Green Knight & Pearl, two classics of the 14th Century alliterative revival This too will be available at my book table at the NYC Poetry Festival #alliterative #poetry #SirGawain #GreenKnight #Tolkien #Tolkiensky #poetrysky #NYCPoetryFestival

JRR Tolkien, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

In 1953, JRR Tolkien published "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhtholm's Son". It was the first alliterative poem he published. You can find it in The Tolkien Reader, which I'll be selling at the NYC Poetry Festival. #NYCPoetryFestival #NYCPoFest #NYC #pofest #Tolkien #alliterative #poetry #poem

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Tolkien Reader. Includes "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhtholms' Son", the first alliterative poem by Tolkien to be published.

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

One of the books I'll be selling at the New York City Poetry Festival: W.H. Auden's "Age of Anxiety", the only alliterative poem (so far) to win a Pulitzer Prize. #NYCPoetryFestival #NYCPoFest #NYC #PoFest #poetry #poetrysky #poetrylovers #poetrycommunity #alliterative #poem #Auden #AgeOFAnxiety

W.H. Auden
The Age of Anxiety: A Baroque Eclogue

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

Here are some of the books I'll be selling at the New York City Poetry Festival tomorrow and Sunday. Some twenty books you'll never see in one place anywhere else. #NYCPoetryFestival #NYC #pofest #alliterative #poetry #poetrysky #poetrylovers #poetrycommunity #BlueskyPoets #alliterativeverse

Books of alliterative poetry ... The Beallsville Calendar, the Tale of Charlemagne and Ralph the Collier, Told By Firelight in Timbered Halls, a Wheel of Ravens, The Song of Daniel and Selected Poems, Speculative Poetry and the Modern Alliterative Revival, Spruce Took Aim with an Inky Spear, Ulfhildr, the Sea-Voyage of Saint Brendan.

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

Forgotten Ground Regained (alliteration.net) will have a book table at the New York City Poetry Festival Tomorrow. Here's the table cover we'll use. Looking forward to putting the books on the table...all kinds of alliterative poetry, from Tolkien and Lewis to modern tales using that ancient form.

A table cover bearing images from the Bayeux Tapestry and the banner, "Forgotten Ground Regained: Modern English Alliterative Poetry".

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

@zachweinersmith.bsky.social reads tomorrow from his graphic novel "Bea Wolf". If you haven't read it to your kid yet, you're late to the party! Tomorrow, 1 pm, at the New York City Poetry Festival, White Horse Stage, Nolan Park, Governor's Island. Book signing afterward.

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

Tomorrow, we read! Aaron Poochigian, Paul Deane, Lancelot Schaubert, and Zach Weinersmith will read alliterative poetry at the New York City Poetry Festival, July 18 2026, 1 pm, White Horse Stage, Nolan Park, Governor's Island

Aaron Poochigian, Paul Deane, Lancelot Schaubert, Zach Weinersmith, reading alliterative poetry at the New York City Poetry Festival, July 18 2026, 1 pm, White Horse Stage, Noland Park, Governor's Island

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· 28d

Tomorrow!

New York City Poetry Festival, 11 am - 6 pm, July 18-19, 2026, Nolan Park, Governor's Island

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· Jul 13

Sir Gawain does not like the look of the Green Chapel! From my ongoing free online translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight alliteration.net/poetry/sggk/ #alliterative #poetry #poetrysky #medievalsky #poetrylovers #poetrycommunity #SirGawain #GreenKnight #arthurian #epic #poem

What a wasteland this is!” the warrior declared.
“This chapel is a chancy place, utterly choked with weeds:
A fine place for that fellow fitted out in green
and the services he must celebrate after Satan’s fashion.
My five senses inform me that the fiend intends
the understanding that he struck with me to destroy me here.
This is a chapel of mischance – just chuck it in hell! –
the most sinister sanctuary I have ever seen or entered.”
With a high helm upon his head, holding his lance,
he rode up to the roof of that rough structure.
Then from that high hill he heard a horrible noise
ringing from the rocks and ridges beyond the brook.
How it clattered against the cliff, like a cleaving knife,
and grated like a grindstone grinding a scythe!
How it rushed and rang out, raw to the ear!
“By God!” Gawain said. “The gear he prepares
is whetted to welcome me in a most worthy manner,
it is clear.
Alas! God’s will be done
Even though my death draws near,
I shall finish what my hand’s begun.
No noise can make me fear

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· Jul 10

Love Tolkien? Love alliterative verse? The Summer issue of Forgotten Ground Regained will have both. 22 poems. 18 authors. All all-alliterative, all-Tolkien fan poetry. Coming July 24th!

Marker to JRR and Edith Tolkien's grave.

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· Jul 9

NY Poetry festival is just over a week away! Here's the info on Forgotten Ground Regained's reading, July 18th, 1 pm, at the White Horse Stage on Governor's Island. The complete list of readers for all readings can be found at www.newyorkcitypoetryfestival.com/readers.

1:00 PM: Forgotten Ground Regained
A website and quarterly literary journal devoted to modern English alliterative verse.

Featured Poets: Aaron Poochigian, Lancelot Schaubert, Zach Weinersmith, and Paul Deane.

Aaron Poochigian earned a PhD in Classics from the University of Minnesota and an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University. His latest poetry collection, American Divine, came out in 2021, and his immersive tour of Central Park in poetry, "Four Walks In Central Park," came out in 2025. He has published numerous translations with Penguin Classics and W.W. Norton. His work has appeared in such publications as Best American Poetry, The Paris Review and POETRY. He is the recipient of the Richard Wilbur and the Anahid literary awards.

Find Lancelot at the big blue tent: Lancelot Schaubert is the author of Bell Hammers, The Greenwood Poet, Inconveniences Rightly Considered, and other novels and anthologies. He has sold work to McSweeney’s, Tor.com, The Poet’s Market, The New Haven Review, The World Series Edition of Poker Pro, The Anglican Theological Review, etc. He edited The Women’s Poetry Anthology, Of Gods and Globes, and the Showbear Family Circus. He’s a big fan of that one time Mary Oliver shoved a dead pigeon in her pocket in front of Christian Wiman before they went onstage at a poetry panel.

Zach Weinersmith is best known as the cartoonist of the comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. He also co-wrote the popular science book A City on Mars with his wife and worked with the artist Boulet to create a children's retelling of the story of Beowulf called Bea Wolf. His other books are either less good or more controversial, so we'll leave them out. He lives in Virginia.

Paul Deane is a theoretical linguist by training, a computational linguist by vocation, and a poet by avocation. He is the editor of Forgotten Ground Regained (alliteration.net), a website and quarterly literary journal devoted to modern English alliterative verse. His poetry has appeared …

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· Jul 9

Just out in Indolent Books Second Coming series: My poem, "Caedmon hears a voice in the night. It is Claude Opera 4.6" secondcoming.substack.com/p/second-com...

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· Jun 21

I'm describing his self-justification at the time, not his final understanding. I quote my translation of the relevant stanza below. Why would think it was a "noble trick" (Middle English: "the sleghte were noble")? Cheating to save your life isn't noble w/o justification. What that is matters.

“So this silk is unacceptable,” she said, and scoffed,
“because it’s such a simple thing? So it may seem –
a mere scrap, skimpy, and of scant worth –
but one conscious of the qualities caught in its web
might place its price a point or two higher!
Just get a man girded in this green lace,
and insofar as it is fitted firmly about him,
no hero under Heaven can harm him at all,
nor can he be killed by any craft on Earth.”
As he considered what she said, it seemed in his heart
that for the peril that approached him, it made the perfect gift.
When he got what he had given at the Green Chapel,
and it saved his neck, would that not be a noble trick?
He relented at last and gave her leave to speak,
and she pressed it upon him with passionate gestures.
As soon as he consented, she set it in his hands,
beseeching him for her sake to conceal her gift
most loyally from her lord. At length he agreed
that no one could know; he would never breathe
a word.

Paul Deane@rhunedhel· Jun 21

...a horrible horseman hurtled through the doors his body as brawny as any can be so bull-necked, big-thighed, bulky and square so long-legged, large-limbed, looming so tall I can hardly tell if he were half troll or merely as large as living man can be-- alliteration.net/poetry/sggk/ #alliteration