Gilgamesh is the most ancient long poem known to exist. It is also the newest classic in the canon of world literature. Lost for centuries to the sands of the Middle East but found again in the 1850s, it is a story of monsters, gods, and cataclysms, and of intimate friendship and love. Acclaimed literary historian Michael Schmidt provides a unique meditation on the rediscovery of Gilgamesh, showing how part of its special fascination is its captivating otherness. He reflects on the work of leading poets such as Charles Olson, Louis Zukofsky, and Yusef Komunyakaa, whose own encounters with the poem are revelatory, and he reads its many translations and editions to bring it vividly to life for today's readers.

'Wonderful...Schmidt's argument for the poem as poetry, in the modern sense-concrete, unglazed, tough on the mind-is touching and persuasive. I read the book spellbound, in one sitting.' - Joan Acocella, New Yorker

'Michael Schmidt's book is a lively and instructive read, full of insight and response that bring a new voice to the poem's reception.' - A. R. George, author of The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic

'[Schmidt's] freshly framed observations help renew one of the world's oldest surviving tales.' - James Romm, Wall Street Journal

'If you have never read Gilgamesh before, Schmidt could be Virgil to your Dante, and if you have read it before, be prepared to let it be explicated in a new and lively way and to flow over your mind like quicksilver.' - John Butler, Asian Review of Books