The Seafarer is one of a group of Anglo-Saxon poems found in the Exeter Book, Codex Exoniensis, donated to the library of Exeter cathedral by Leofric, the first Bishop of Exeter (d. 1072). Compiled around 970, it is the largest surviving collection of Old English literature. The poem tells the story of life s apparent futility through the words of a lone mariner. Amy Riach s strong and expressive new translation seems to empower the voice of the Seafarer, while all of Jila Peacock's masterful monoprints are reproduced alongside the poem.
