The Road from Bohemia to Westphalia

According to the American Academy of Poets, "An epic is a long, often book-length, narrative in verse form that retells the heroic journey of a single person, or group of persons. Elements that typically distinguish epics include superhuman deeds, fabulous adventures, highly stylized language, and a blending of lyrical and dramatic traditions."The Road from Bohemia to Westphalia does not meet all the criteria of an epic based upon the definition listed above. It is a long, book-length poem and it does tell the story of a journey. However, the reader will strain to find much heroism in it. There is also nothing particularly "superhuman" or "fabulous" in it at first blush. The "hero" of the tale is a quite average young man on a journey to fulfill his dreams. At least that is how he appears. However, a deeper look into this epic will reveal that this simple everyman is indeed a hero and that his feats are indeed superhuman in their own way.The story of the young man's adventure, related in fifty parts, is (hopefully) entertaining and it points out some obvious (and not so obvious) facets of the human condition. His story is both unique and universal. In it fifty parts, The Road from Bohemia to Westphalia employs several different forms of verse including traditional rhyming verse, blank verse, free verse, a few haikus, and even a limerick. These varying styles of verse tell a single, multi-layered story of one man's adventure.I recommend the reader to take The Road from Bohemia to Westphalia for what it is - the story on one man's adventure in a world he does not quite understand.I recommend the reader not rush through The Road from Bohemia to Westphalia. I meant it for slow reading. Pretend it is a sweet decadent dessert. Enjoy it deliberately.