SOURCE: "Translating the Kalevala: Midway Reflections," in Books from Finland, Vol. XIX, No. 1, 1985, pp. 30-33.

In the following essay, written while he was in the process of translating the Kalevala into English, Bosley reflects on the special challenges and responsibilities inherent in that task.

Ilmarinen the smith, eternal craftsman,
 forges a fiery eagle, a wivern
 of flame: the feet he hammered out of iron,
 of steel the talons, wings of a boat's sides.
 Up on the wings he clambered, on its back,
 the eagle's wingbone tips, there he sat down,
 there he commanded: 'Eagle, pretty bird,
 fly where I bid you—to the sluggish river
 of Death's dark lord, into the fateful gully!
 Pounce on the Pike, the scaly monster, smite
 the fish that, though well fed, can dart and dodge!' . . .

Nel mezzo del cammin: the half-way point of any long journey is critical. Can we continue...