From the Monroe (LA) News-Star ...

Burton Raffel of Lafayette could be described as the preeminent translator of epic works today — his translation of Beowulf has sold more than a million copies. The author of 100 books as a poet, literary critic and editor has just translated The Divine Comedy by Northwestern World Classics and the book commands awe. This fall, Raffel published his first novel, a historical examination of American life titled Yankee Doric: America Before the Civil War. The book's a must for history lovers and arrives in perfect time for the Civil War sesquicentennial.