The Romance of Willem and the Werewolf and Other Medieval Lays

Richards' skillful verse seems to channel the lays' original power almost without impediment: more than a tour de force, it is an inspiration. Annie Finch * * * * * All the richness and mythic power of its original incarnation. Mikhail Horowitz * * * * * The Romance of Willem and the Werewolf, a strange, haunting romance that is every bit as compelling as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and other, better-known tales, was written by an unknown poet circa 1200 A.D. in Old French, and later translated into Middle English. The Lay of Guigemar and The Lay of Bisclavaret are by Marie de France, recognized as France's first woman poet. Working from various modern prose translations, Tad Richards has reimagined them into verse that fully captures the magic of the original. * * * * * Tad Richards is a poet, novelist and writer of whatever else you can think of. His poetry has appeared in a wide range of journals and several anthologies, and his column about the craft and lure of poetry, "Informal," appears monthly in the online journal, Verse-Virtual (verse-virtual.com). eFitzgerald has published an earlier collection of poems, Take Five: Poems in 5/4 Time. His most recent novel, written with Jonathan Richards, is Nick and Jake (Arcade Publishing).* * * * * Richards is married and lives in Saugerties, New York, at Opus 40, the monumental environmental sculpture created by his stepfather, Harvey Fite.* * * * * The Romance of Willem and the Werewolf has been performed by Actors and Writers, Hudson Valley.