Kalevala, The Land of the Heroes (Kirby translation)


Read by Expatriate

(4.5 stars; 19 reviews)

The Kalevala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. It is regarded as the national epic of Karelia and Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. The Kalevala played an instrumental role in the development of the Finnish national identity, the intensification of Finland's language strife and the growing sense of nationality that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917. The first version of The Kalevala (called The Old Kalevala) was published in 1835. The version most commonly known today was first published in 1849 and consists of 22,795 verses, divided into fifty songs. The title can be interpreted as "The Land of Kaleva" or "Kalevia." If the rhythm of the poetry sounds familiar to American readers, it is probably because Henry Wadsworth Longfellow borrowed its trochaic tetrameter form for his famous "Song of Hiawatha." Of the five complete translations of the Kalevala into English, it is only the older translations by John Martin Crawford (1888) and William Forsell Kirby (1907) which attempt strictly to follow the original rhythm (Kalevala meter) of the poems. Modern writers influenced by the Kalevala include J. R. R. Tolkien, whose epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy make use of both style and content from the Finnish work. - Summary by Wikipedia (edited and supplemented by Expatriate) (15 hr 37 min)

Chapters

Runo 01 14:53 Read by Expatriate
Runo 02 17:17 Read by Expatriate
Runo 03 23:56 Read by Expatriate
Runo 04 21:05 Read by Expatriate
Runo 05 10:06 Read by Expatriate
Runo 06 10:00 Read by Expatriate
Runo 07 15:24 Read by Expatriate
Runo 08 12:03 Read by Expatriate
Runo 09 23:12 Read by Expatriate
Runo 10 20:51 Read by Expatriate
Runo 11 16:04 Read by Expatriate
Runo 12 19:44 Read by Expatriate
Runo 13 11:00 Read by Expatriate
Runo 14 18:12 Read by Expatriate
Runo 15 24:56 Read by Expatriate
Runo 16 17:27 Read by Expatriate
Runo 17 25:12 Read by Expatriate
Runo 18 27:20 Read by Expatriate
Runo 19 20:50 Read by Expatriate
Runo 20 23:25 Read by Expatriate
Runo 21 17:19 Read by Expatriate
Runo 22 20:17 Read by Expatriate
Runo 23 33:40 Read by Expatriate
Runo 24 23:44 Read by Expatriate
Runo 25 32:38 Read by Expatriate
Runo 26 34:25 Read by Expatriate
Runo 27 18:57 Read by Expatriate
Runo 28 13:04 Read by Expatriate
Runo 29 25:03 Read by Expatriate
Runo 30 21:05 Read by Expatriate
Runo 31 15:55 Read by Expatriate
Runo 32 21:42 Read by Expatriate
Runo 33 12:42 Read by Expatriate
Runo 34 10:34 Read by Expatriate
Runo 35 15:50 Read by Expatriate
Runo 36 15:10 Read by Expatriate
Runo 37 10:31 Read by Expatriate
Runo 38 13:47 Read by Expatriate
Runo 39 17:16 Read by Expatriate
Runo 40 13:53 Read by Expatriate
Runo 41 11:26 Read by Expatriate
Runo 42 22:59 Read by Expatriate
Runo 43 18:08 Read by Expatriate
Runo 44 13:54 Read by Expatriate
Runo 45 14:45 Read by Expatriate
Runo 46 24:34 Read by Expatriate
Runo 47 15:10 Read by Expatriate
Runo 48 14:52 Read by Expatriate
Runo 49 17:06 Read by Expatriate
Runo 50 24:31 Read by Expatriate

Reviews

Very interesting.


(4 stars)

The reader did a great job. He even continued through a cold, and did well.

great tale


(3.5 stars)

words of myth. tales that any lover of the mythologies of the world, especially those strange and beautiful and baltic, will love. the reader is one im usually quite fond of listening to. however, the kalevala is here read to sound exactly like so many readers i had heard growing up in the catholic churches of the midwest u.s. so painfully dull and listing. ready to stretch and yawn? good. now you're over the sleepy doldrum of the reading, enjoy the beautiful tale.