The Word Exchange brings to life a dazzling variety of Anglo-Saxon poetry by an all-star cast of contemporary poets in an authoritative bilingual edition. Encompassing a wide range of voices, the 123 poems complement the portrait of medieval England that emerges from Beowulf. Offered here are tales of battle, travel and adventure but also songs of heartache and longing, pearls of lusty innuendo and clear-eyed stoicism, charms and spells and seven ''hoards'' of puzzling riddles. Featuring all-new translations by seventy-four celebrated poets - including Seamus Heaney, Robert Pinsky, Billy Collins, Eavan Boland, Paul Muldoon, Robert Hass, Gary Soto, Jane Hirshfield, David Ferry, Molly Peacock, Yusef Komunyakaa, Richard Wilbur and many others - The Word Exchange is a landmark work of translation, as fascinating and multivocal as the original literature it translates.