Those poems are still with us today, with Gilgamesh, the Odyssey, the Ramayana and others. It can seem sometimes now, though, that most poems need to be translated to us by a critic or a teacher.

Poetry reading at Inglewood Junior School, Carlisle, in 1996 (Image: The Cumberland News Photographic) Another ancient poem, The Love Song for Shu-Sin, dating from around 2000 BC, is considered the ...

Some of our most ancient texts, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s Odyssey are, in effect, “travel poems”—though they ...

The word 'poetry' is from the Greek term poiesis, which means 'making'. The oldest written poem is the Epic of Gilgamesh originating from Babylon. Back to top Poetry might seem intimidating to stu ...

In around 2000 BCE, written poetry is thought to have surfaced with the Epic of Gilgamesh. Though poetry has evolved in form and function, its roots remain the same: to bring people closer ...