In February, having begun a poem about a young Nefertiti, I decided that this piece was actually merely prologue. I didn’t want to have only either her life in one poem or one poem on part of her life. I decided to go the distance, from childhood to burial, via a plethora of poetic texts.
There will be seven books in total, probably varying in length. This is the first. Here we meet the girl-child and her sister, Mut-Beneret, as they approach their womanhood.
Regarding the name: Ancient Egyptian’s did not write down vowels. So, we only have something like Nfr .t .t with which to go on. Her name, of course, became Nefertiti to us, but that is really only one possible iteration. I played around with different versions of my own, and settled on Nafereti-Iti. Say it fast, and it almost sounds like the name you’re used to.
So, here it is: Book One! Below there is a free, downloadable PDF for each section, as well as the whole thing altogether in one document.
Now onto Book Two, in which the Beautiful One enters the palace, catching the eye of a certain prince…
Image credit – RUGGERO VANNI/GETTY IMAGES
william altoft 
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