http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnameh

You’ve made a great list with the epics of the world. However, you did not include another great epic of the 16th century – “The Lusiads”, written by a Portuguese Poet Luis Vaz Camoes.

The epic describes has hero the famous navigator Vasco da Gama who in 1498 discovered the sea way to India.

Please in reading this masterpiece you have to take into consideration what happened at the time of the discoveries, namely that just before that the Iberian Peninsula, and the crusaders were fighting the Moorish as the Christian Church was encouraging that fight to expand the Christian faith.

Of course those religious views have been changed from those times and today the world wide intention is to live together with all faiths and certainly during his time, Pope John Paul II did a great job pursuing that avenue.

Here is a review of the poem at this link – http://www.shvoong.com/books/472287-lusiads/

“An epic poem, written after the classic greek epic poems. “The Lusiads” (which had its first edition published in 1572) is a literary outcome of the Renaissance and of the period of the portuguese discovery expeditions of the 16th century. It is structured according to the canonics (eights in decasyllables bound to the fixed ryhme scheme ABABABCC, structured in ten chants), a historical image of portuguese culture, placing the voyage that Vasco da Gama made to the indis as a central theme. During the voyage, among the setbacks and the conquests, episodes of portuguese history are narrated in flashback, since the early days of Lusitania. Associated to a certain literaly mastery only worthy of a genius poet, the plot is enriched with two parallel stories: The royal voyage of the portuguese and a mythological plan, in which the olympic gods will take their stand regarding the voyage, some of them conspiring for its success while other conspire for its fail.Both plans interact precisely in the end, in the episode at the Love Island (Ilha dos Amores) – the only one where the story is not bound by historical facts -, working as a prize to the voyagers and, in its erotic intensity, it’s also a fulcrum in Camões’s writing.”

So here is the link to a website where you can read the epic and from where you can see the picture which I believe you can put on your list to illustrate the poem:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/lus/index.htm

And another link with a summary and some chapter of that epic poem and you can buy the book.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=wba1CdOTRgQC&dq=the+lusiads&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=P1m9SovkJYzp8QazttDBAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=the%20lusiads&f=false

I believe you can find a copy at a public library.

My Address 1002 Triech Town Lot 27
San Pedro, Ivory Coast.

Dearest In Christ Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

I am the Sister morris Barry from Kuwait. I am married to Mr. Joseph barry who worked with Kuwait embassy in Ivory Coast for nine years before he died in the year 2005.We were married for thirteen years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days.
Before his death we were both born again Christian. Since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of ( $ 9.Million inside one trunk box) in the Safety Security company in Abidjan Ivory Coast .
I am contacting to hand you over this fund as a donation because, Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the next Nine months due to cancer problem. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a church that will use this fund for orphanages, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavor that the house of God is maintained.

The Bible made us to understand that “Blessed is the hand that giveth”. I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I don’t want my husband’s efforts to be used by unbelievers.
I don’t want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision.

I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that “the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace”. I don’t need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband’s relatives around me always. I don’t want them to know about this development.

With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Security company in Abidjan in Ivory Coast. I will also issue you an authorisation letter that will prove you the present beneficiary of this fund. I want you and the church to always pray for me because the lord is my shephard. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that Wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and Truth.

Please always be prayerful all through your life.Contact me on my email any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another church for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein. Hoping to receive your reply.

PLease Contact at my home email Address.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
From Your Sister In Christ Mrs.morris Barry.

It is about the rise and fall of Australia as an industrial power. It was written by the Australian poet-author Kundan Misra.

The book is here:
http://www.amazon.com/common-weal-fictitious-Australian-tragedy/dp/0980532035

His author page is here:
http://www.amazon.com/Kundan-Misra/e/B001K84KNE

With best wishes,

Sean
–

Pope over blows making and drinking coffee. It’s amazing.