(Heads up, this post is a bit long-winded. You certainly don't have to read all of it, but if you're curious why certain books are or aren't here, this is where you'll find your answers!)

The intent of this quest is to introduce readers to fictitious* narrative poetry**, novels-in-verse, and epic poems. These stories range from short, young adult novels-in-verse to more challenging classic epic poems, with a lot to explore in between! I truly believe there is a story here for everyone.

Given the complex (and relatively broad) nature of this quest, I felt it would be helpful to outline some points around the curation of it:

• Many of these works detail real people, places, cultures, religions, and historical events. Some works, like The Kalevala, are of extreme importance to their respective nations and include both real and fictitious elements. Though I use the word “fictitious” to describe books in this quest, I recognize that there are very real topics embedded in these stories. These books have been included due to their cultural and scholarly significance, among other things. That being said, I did make the decision to exclude books that are widely considered/followed as holy religious texts, like the Tanakh and Qur’an.

• On epic poems: There are, admittedly, many famous/national epics that are not included here. This quest is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every epic ever written. When determining which epics to include, I took into consideration many factors like accessibility, length, scholarly resources for interpretation/analysis, and more. I feel the epics I’ve included represent a diverse range of topics and histories, without taking over the whole quest (in fact, it is possible to earn the sapphire badge without reading a single epic, if you don't want to!). If you are interested in exploring more epics, I invite you to check out @mythos's 🔗”Epic poetry: A Selection” list and @Storyteller's 🔗”Epics About Women” list. If there are other lists or online resources that you love, feel free to link them in the comments!

• On modern works: I chose to exclude middle grade novels-in-verse, but I have included a number of young adult works (defined for this quest as books directed at 13- to 18-year-olds). As this quest grows and new releases are added, I will be prioritizing general adult over YA. (If you're interested in middle grade novels-in-verse, check out 🔗this list by @one_crazy_eliott!)

• This quest will not feature repeat authors, with the exception of Homer’s The Odyssey and The Iliad due to their wide influence and accessibility (this rule does not apply to translators).

• Currently, there are some repetitive mythologies/histories in this quest (Paradise Lost and The Divine Comedy, Homer's works, etc.). These works have been added (you guessed it!) due to their accessibility and influence. Going forward, with more modern works, I will be making an effort to not further center repetitive characters/mythologies.

• Length played a factor in deciding which small selection of individual poems to include here, with the focus on pieces that were more than 500 lines (for example, I included Rossetti’s Goblin Market, but not Poe’s The Raven)

• Some works in this quest defy a singular genre and rather combine various poetic elements; some utilize narrative elements within other poetic forms (for example, Coleridge’s ballad The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Armitage's translation of the alliterative poem The Death of King Arthur, or Khanna’s persona poems in Burning Like Her Own Planet)—these have been included due to their diverse subject matter, influence, and ultimate existence as fantastical poetic stories, which is the purpose of this quest to highlight.

I hope these notes have shed some light on the books in this quest. I'm happy to answer any questions you have, but I ask that you keep in mind my curation decisions were not made lightly; I'm no expert or scholar, but I put a lot of time into researching the titles in this quest: it is ultimately my choice whether or not to include certain works based on my vision for the quest. Thank you for respecting that.

If you would like to make a recommendation for a book to add, please see the 🔗Book Recommendations post.

*I use the word “fictitious” delicately. As noted, many of these poems touch on real cultures, religions, and historical figures. Some of these poems put a fantastical spin on these real topics, others focus on mythologies that are fictitious to some but real to others. I have made every effort to avoid widely-followed religious holy texts and focus on stories that are generally understood to be exaggerated, fantastic, or important to cultural folkloric traditions. **Narrative poetry is poetry that tells a story and is broken into lines or stanzas. It contains classic story elements: characters, a plot, a setting. Prose poetry, on the other hand, is not broken into lines or stanzas and tends to follow a more natural flow of language/speaking. There is, of course, crossover between these definitions and various arguments to be made for some titles here (or not here), but I intentionally excluded works that lean more toward prose rather than narrative poetry.