Heaney listed for Whitbread

Seamus Heaney has made the poetry shortlist of the Whitbread Book Awards for his adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf. The judges said Heaney had produced "a translation that brilliantly combines the faithful with the original". He will compete for the prize with Michael Hoffman, Don Paterson and the late Ted Hughes. The winners of the 1999 prize will be announced in January.