Galen Miller-Atkins is an archaeologist and writer in Ellensburg, Washington.
His work primarily deals with translating Old Icelandic and Old English texts.
“I shall blend… Sónr’s waterfall, Suttúng’s mead, and the memorial cup of the gods”— Völsungs rímur.
Galen Miller-Atkins’ writing focuses on the interplay between language and literature in the late-medieval period. He is primarily concerned with how legendary and family sagas were re-adapted into new stories and poetic forms.
“‘Legends’ depend on the language to which they belong; but a living language depends equally on the ‘legends’ which it conveys by tradition.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
Past and Present Projects
Gathering Seaweed
A chapbook of poetry with translations from Old English.
Signum Collaboratory
My work is featured on the Signum Collaboratory, a subscription-based creative publishing community.
Medieval Icelandic Rímur
Currently translating a series of late medieval Icelandic poems based on legendary and family sagas.