John L. Foster (1) (1930–2011)

The Shipwrecked Sailor: A Tale from Ancient Egypt by John L. Foster is an excellent line-by-line translation of the original Shipwrecked Sailor text, kept very literal and as close to the original meaning as possible without stilting the English grammar of the translation beyond all comprehension. There are of course some potential points of contention in the translation (it differs slightly from the version in Hoch's Middle Egyptian Grammar, for example), but these exist in virtually any show more text translated from a dead language (or any living one for that matter!).

This version helpfully includes the original text alongside the translation and an explanation of the text-->transliteration-->translation process, as well as a brief primer on how hieroglyphic (and hieratic) text is read, and some historical information regarding both the text and the illustrations (as many of them are inspired by actual images and artwork from Ancient Egypt). In spite of the bright illustrations, which might suggest that children are the primary intended audience for this book, it is actually quite a useful reference source for scholars and students of Middle Egyptian. Younger children might even find it a bit challenging (and may prefer Tamara Bower's version of the story), though children who are a little older might appreciate the extra layers of information, especially if they are really interested in Ancient Egyptian culture.

This is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it. show less

This is a good, concise selection of Egyptian hymns and poems from various dynasties in a nice translation. The larger collections by Lichtheim are more complete and include tales and wisdom books, but they can be tough sledding at times, and a little Egyptian literature goes a long way. The Tale of Sinuhe (Oxford) is an even better bet.

This is quite a small book with a few selcted poems on the subject of Giants.
Umm, I loved it - the peoms are well selected to make you think with no duplication of ideas, there is even one narrative poem. idel ofr reading to primaruy kids

English translations along with hieroglyphic transcriptions of the original texts, and illustrated with copies by Nina M. Davies of Egyptian tomb paintings. These poems date to between 1300 and 1100 B.C.E.

My love is back, let me shout out the news!
My arms swing wide to embrace her,
And heart pirouettes in its dark chamber
glad as a fish when night shades the pool.
You are mine, my mistress, mine to eternity,
mine from the day you first whispered my name!